ISLAMABAD: Several heads of schools and colleges in the federal capital have said that some Chromebooks provided to educational institutions by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training have developed faults even before going into use.

They said that the digital learning tools could not be switched on upon delivery.

The ministry had procured secondhand Chromebooks for schools and colleges through the National Book Foundation.

When contacted, an officer of the education ministry confirmed issues with some gadgets. However, he said that the issues have almost been resolved.

“It was not a big problem, rather there was an issue with some of the chargers. We have replaced the chargers and now, the issue has almost been resolved,” he said.

The official further said that the heads of the schools and colleges had been directed to get new chargers from the ministry’s vendors.

“Most of the chargers have been replaced and the remaining, if any, would be replaced without additional charges,” he said.

When asked why secondhand Chromebooks were procured, he said, “Due to budget shortage, we opted for refurbished Chromebooks to facilitate maximum schools. We purchased each Chromebook against Rs11,900 after a competitive bidding process. We also got permission from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority for the purchases.”

The official added that there is a month’s warranty on all of the gadgets.

Moreover, he further said an additional 12,000 Chromebooks would be provided through the National Book Foundation while the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) will procure 8,000 more through a separate tender.

The new tender of FDE will be opened on April 10, he said and added that new Chromebooks were far more costly than the used ones.

The officer said that the initiative aimed to improve the quality of education in public sector schools by introducing digital learning tools.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2025