An internal circular issued by the Ministry for Education and Sport on Tuesday stated that, due to the contracted supplier's inability to honour the awarded contract for this procurement, not all Year 4 students may be given a new laptop at this time under this government incentive.

This circular, which has been seen by The Malta Independent, says that while the Education Ministry reaffirms its commitment to digital education, "the contracted supplier has recently informed the Ministry that it is unable to honour the financial conditions established under the awarded contracts and, consequently, cannot fulfil its obligations under the originally agreed terms."

"This will inevitably affect the planned distribution of new devices," the circular said.

In March last year, the Ministry for Education announced that it was distributing over 9,000 tablet-laptops (laptops that can be folded for use as tablets) to all Year 4 and Year 5 students in the Maltese islands. This government measure affected all students in government, church, and independent primary schools.

Nearly 20 months later, an issue from the supplier's end has hiccupped the government's ability to provide these devices to the new cohort of Year 4 students. The Ministry said that it is looking to work around this development, through "alternative solutions," as quickly as it can.

"While the current situation will primarily affect the distribution of new laptops to Year 4 students, the Ministry for Education and Sport remains committed to identifying alternative solutions to address this development as efficiently as possible," it was communicated.

The Ministry noted that the supply of these devices was secured by the supplier in question through public procurement processes. The supplier - who was left unnamed - was said to have won a contract that obliged them "to ensure the provision of laptops over a number of years."

The Education Ministry did not disclose for what particular reason the supplier could not honour this agreement and provide these devices.

In addition, the Education Ministry reassured parents, guardians, educators, and students, that "Year 7 students who were previously provided with laptops during their primary education will be able to retain these devices and continue using them as they progress into secondary education," thus minimising disruptions in this regard.

In March 2025, the previous Minister for Education, Clifton Grima, said that by distributing tablet-laptops to all Year 4 and Year 5 students, the government was preparing them "for when they will receive a government-issued laptop in Year 7."

In September last year, the government stated that a combination of national and European funds worth €54 million was used to hand out laptops to all Year 7 students in state and non-state schools. This initiative to provide early secondary students with a personal laptop to open the 2025/26 scholastic year covered students in Years 7, 8, and 9 as the marked first phase of the One Device Per Child (ODPC) project.

No comment was given on whether this development has affected the government tender with the laptop supplier itself.

The Education Ministry said that it will continue to bolster its investment in digital education by especially focusing "on the provision of high-quality digital educational content and resources that support teaching and learning."

"Building on the digital resources already available to schools, further investment is being made through ongoing procurement initiatives aimed at expanding the range of interactive educational content accessible to educators and students," the Ministry said.

It continued that such initiatives are part of the Ministry's wider commitment to seeing that technology in education goes beyond the provision of devices. It stressed that equal importance is being placed on providing "meaningful digital learning experiences, innovative teaching practices, and the development of students' digital skills."

The Education Ministry concluded that it remains committed to providing students with the tools and resources they need along their educational journey, and that it will continue working towards "a suitable solution for the provision of new devices."

This statement was written by the Director of the Ministry's Directorate for Digital Literacy and Transversal Skills (DDLTS), Neil Attard.