Following a five-year delay, the Teacher Laptop Initiative (TLI) was officially rolled out by deputy minister of basic education Enver Surty yesterday, only a week after the Department of Basic Education abandoned outcomes-based education.

The Teacher Laptop Initiative is part of the education department's strategy to improve the use of information and communications technology in public education.

Qualifying teachers would have a choice of packages, which range from R250 and R390 a month from suppliers that have been accredited by the department.

As of 19 July, teachers can begin getting their laptop packages.

The laptop package would include school administration materials and the national curriculum, as well as internet connectivity.

A department survey showed interest from at least 120 000 teachers, and the council was determined to at least double this number, he said.

Sixty-six percent of SA's public schools did not have computers and only 14.8 percent of South African households, mainly urban ones, had computers, research has shown.

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