Schools risk being saddled with 'obsolete computers'

SCHOOLS are demanding extra taxpayer funding to replace hundreds of thousands of obsolete computers over the next four years.

SCHOOLS are demanding extra taxpayer funding to replace hundreds of thousands of obsolete computers over the next four years.

Almost a million new laptops, iPads and desktop computers have been provided to students under the Gillard government's $2.4 billion Digital Education Revolution scheme since 2008.

But up to a quarter of them will need to be replaced this year or next.

State and territory education ministers have told The Australian the Gillard government's promise of a free computer for every high-school student in years 9 to 12 is at risk without adequate ongoing funding.

Victoria is demanding $265 million in federal funds to maintain and replace the 142,000 computers, laptops and iPads in state schools over the next four years. It estimates that 33,000 school computers will need replacement next year.

The Western Australian Education Department has warned it can only provide one computer between every five high-school students unless Canberra pays $81m over the next four years. WA will start replacing 12,000 of its 50,000 computers next month.

Queensland - which needs to replace 6132 of its 110,000 computers by year's end - has accused the federal government of "chronically underfunding" the DER program.

The state's Minister for Education, Training and Employment, John-Paul Langbroek, said Queensland had kicked in $45m in state funds over the past three years to make up for a "shortfall in funding from the commonwealth".

"We are willing to work with the commonwealth and other states to see that children get access to computers in the classroom, but Queensland should not have to foot the bill for another flawed policy from the federal Labor government," he said.

NSW will seek funds to start replacing its 253,000 computers during talks with the federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations this week.

The federal government will pay the states and territories $200m in 2012-13 to maintain and replace computers over the next 12 months. But it has not announced how much it will pay schools after July next year.

Victoria has calculated it needs double the $29.5m allocated to it by the federal government for replacement computers in 2012-13.

A spokesman for Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said the "true cost" of maintaining and replacing obsolete computers would be $66m a year.

 "Should funding not be received beyond 2012-13 the 1:1 ratio will become unsustainable," the spokesman said.

The DER program has paid the state, Catholic and independent school sectors $2500 to cover the cost of buying, installing and maintaining each new computer.

But only $1000 will be paid for replacement computers, starting next financial year.

Catholic schools in WA have warned they may have to cut their education budgets in "other core areas" to pay for the IT upgrades.

A WA Education Department spokeswoman said Catholic schools had bought a "large number" of iPads, which needed replacing every two or three years, instead of four.

ACT Minister for Education and Training, Chris Bourke, said that unless Canberra gave an ongoing $4m a year, "both ACT government and non-government schools will have problems maintaining the current level of computer provision".

Federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett said funding had been set aside in the Treasury's contingency reserve for "future funding subject to the negotiation of a new agreement with states and territories and the non-government sector".

He said the DER program had been "delivered on time and within budget", with 957,805 computers purchased nationally.