Overview
- The ministry will move personal laptop and tablet distribution from fifth grade to the second semester of sixth grade, delaying the first affected cohort by about 1.5 years.
- Officials pair the delay with an analogue push that stresses handwriting practice, daily schoolwide reading time called a 'Leseband', diagnose‑based reading support and reading mentors.
- The ministry projects near‑term savings from the change, citing roughly €30 million in 2027 and €50 million in 2028 from later device purchases.
- School leaders, teachers and student and parent representatives say the delay clashes with existing digital curricula that teach basic digital skills earlier and warn it will deepen inequality if poorer families must supply devices.
- The move follows a 2025 smartphone ban in primary and lower‑secondary schools and echoes international shifts toward printed materials, while opposition parties argue the policy is driven more by budget cuts than pedagogy.