The National Secondary School Computer Fund (the Fund) is a key component of the Australian Government’s $2.2 billion Digital Education Revolution initiative.
The Australian Government is investing $2.1 billion through the Fund, to provide for new or upgraded information and communications technology (ICT) for secondary schools with students in Years 9 to 12. The aim of the Fund is to achieve a 1 to 1 computer to student ratio by 31 December 2011.
The objective of the first three application based rounds of the Fund was to assist secondary schools with students in years 9 to 12 to move to a computer to student target ratio of 1 to 2.
It was decided that secondary schools in greatest need of ICT investment should be the first to benefit from funding in the first two application rounds of the Fund. As a result of the application rounds almost 2,700 secondary schools across Australia were approved for funding to purchase almost 290,000 new computers. $807 million in funding was also provided to schools to address on-costs associated with deployment of additional computers. This covers costs already incurred for computers purchased in the first three rounds of funding as well as for the future costs, it also includes a contribution for the replacement of computers in the last years of the program.
Following the endorsement of the Digital Education Revolution National Partnership and the signing of Digital Education Revolution Funding Agreements with Catholic and Independent education authorities, funding to reach a 1 to 1 computer to student ratio will now be provided biannually to education authorities on a per capita basis.