School digital pact Frankfurt and Hamburg want to call funds

School digital pact

With just under 50 million euros from the digital pact, all Frankfurt schools are to be equipped with wireless Internet as well as new laptops and tablets. According to Sylvia Weber (SPD), head of the education department, the city government agreed on a corresponding implementation of the federal and state funding programme on Friday. Around 30 schools are to be supplied with Wi-Fi and new equipment annually, so that in four years all 167 schools will be reached under the auspices of the city of Frankfurt.

Whiteboards and projectors

Beamers and interactive whiteboards are to be purchased as a contemporary presentation technology for twelve million euros. The vocational schools receive eight million euros for, among other things, digital equipment, machines and tools for vocational training.

Also included lessons are supported: "Especially children and young people with impairments, for example with regard to the support areas of hearing and vision, can benefit in their learning opportunities if they use devices with specially tailored applications," explained Weber.

Corona crisis as a catalyst

"The Corona crisis has shown that the digitalization of schools must now be tackled immediately. "But it’s not just about emergency aid in the crisis, but also about the long-term and structured expansion of digital resources," the Head of Department explained. In June, the city council is to vote on the decision.

The Digital Pact is a support programme for the expansion of the digital education infrastructure, the funds of which, according to Bitkom, are hardly called up by the countries. In Hesse, around 372 million euros will be available by 2024, with the state raising the amount to 500 million euros with its own money. The City of Frankfurt’s own share amounts to six million euros.

25,000 tablets and laptops for distance learning in Hamburg

As part of the School Digital Pact, Hamburg wants to order around 25,000 additional tablets and laptops for its students." For Hamburg, the agreement means an additional 12.8 million euros, which we will distribute according to the proven keys to the private schools, the state vocational schools and the state general schools", said Education Senator Ties Rabe (SPD) in a statement published on Sunday.

With the support of the federal government, about 18,000 additional tablets and laptops could be ordered. But the Hanseatic city wants to go beyond this number. It is working with the school management on a collective order of about 25,000 tablets and laptops. These should then be made available by the schools to students who do not have any of these devices at home. The tablets and laptops are to be lent and maintained by the schools. A significant proportion should already be available at the beginning of the next school year." "In this way, we want to ensure that Hamburg’s students can keep up with distance learning at home," said Rabe.

Online courses and grants for needy students

In April, the Federal Government agreed to launch an "emergency programme" for half a billion euros. The money should be used by the schools for the creation of online teaching offers. In addition, needy students should receive a grant of 150 euros for the purchase of a laptop or another device for teaching at home. full-width