Coalition unveils $120m school ICT scheme

Open to 'technology improvements', not just laptops.

The Coalition has announced a $120 million program of grants for "technology improvements" at schools.

Schools would be able to apply to a School Technology Assessment Panel for up to $50,000 in funding, according to Opposition leader Tony Abbott.

The money was intended to support "new and future teaching and learning approaches - including the integration of ICT and multimedia technologies".

But it was up to individual schools to decide on what technology they would procure, Abbott said.

"This is about the high technology that schools need, it's not simply saying to schools ‘you will get computers whether you like them or not'," Abbott said at a launch earlier today, referring to the Government's computers in schools program that the Coalition pledged to scrap.

"I think it's a good policy. It's a responsible policy. It's an affordable policy in a fiscally constrained environment."

Schools could "match appropriate technology with the education requirements of different year levels, or to use funding for more ICT professional development to incorporate the best technology to support learning," he said.

Applications from "the most disadvantaged schools" would be given priority under the scheme to ensure the benefits of ICT could be spread around.