SNP ministers have been urged to accelerate the rollout of free laptops and tablets to school kids in Scotland after it emerged only one in 10 have been supplied.
Ahead of the May Scottish Parliament election the SNP promised it would "provide every child in Scotland with a device to get online, including a free internet connection and the support to use it" over the course of the five-year term.
With the rise of the Omicron coronavirus variant and fears that more pupils may be forced to learn from home, Scottish Labour is calling for the government to get devices to kids "as soon as possible".
Official figures, which were obtained through a written parliamentary question by Monica Lennon MSP, revealed over 72,000 children have been given a tablet or laptop in 2020/21, which is around 10 per cent of the over 704,000 pupils in Scotland.
Lennon, who represents the Central Scotland region, said it is "disappointing" that only 10 per cent of kids have received their free device.
She added: "Children and young people have had it tough during the pandemic and these free laptops and devices would help to keep them connected.
"Families in Lanarkshire and Falkirk keep asking me when they will get the free laptops promised by the SNP at the election. It’s disappointing that only 1 in 10 pupils in Scotland have received one.
"With Omicron rapidly spreading and classrooms already disrupted, SNP ministers need to get these laptops and devices to pupils as soon as possible."
Responding to the question, Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville wrote: "The Scottish government is committed to ensuring that all school-aged children and young people in Scotland have access to a digital device by the end of this Parliament.
"Given the scale and complexity of this programme of work, the 100-days commitment was to commence planning, not to deliver the devices.
"In 2020-21, we provided £25 million of funding to councils across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion, resulting in over 72,000 pupils receiving a device to support their learning."
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