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Every Scottish schoolchild ‘to be given a laptop or tablet and internet if SNP are re-elected’

EVERY schoolchild in Scotland will be given a laptop or tablet if the SNP is re-elected in May, Deputy First Minister John Swinney pledged today.

The Education Secretary outlined details of the £350 million policy commitment to a special SNP campaign conference.

Mr Swinney said that every device “will come with a free internet connection and full technical support. It will be updated when necessary, replaced when needed and upgraded as technology improves.”

He said that the coronavirus pandemic has shown that such devices are “no longer luxuries” and are instead “the basic building blocks of a good education.”

But Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said that under the SNP, “the digital divide between the wealthiest and the poorest has grown.”

“Time and time again, the SNP has missed its own targets for the rollout of devices — leaving some of the poorest children without access to vital technology and experts baffled at the sluggish pace of the programme,” she said.

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