Personal Internet-enabled Device for Each Primary School Student

98 Ms Hany Soh asked the Minister for Education whether all Primary school students will receive a personal laptop or tablet with complimentary Wi-Fi access to further support home-based learning.

Mr Lawrence Wong: MOE announced in June this year that we will be equipping all secondary school students with a personal learning device by end-2021, seven years ahead of the original schedule.

We are currently studying whether to extend the programme to primary school students. As part of this study, we need to better understand how the daily use of such devices might impact younger students, and improve learning outcomes. We are also looking into the concerns raised by various stakeholders about excessive screen time and digital addiction at an early age.

While we study this issue, measures have been put in place to ensure that all primary school students will have access to devices for home-based learning. For example, our schools have sufficient devices that can be loaned to students who need them.