Photo/Illutration Students use laptops, tablets and smartphones to learn about generative artificial intelligence at Koiwa High School in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward on Dec. 21, 2023. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Nearly 30 percent of laptops provided to public high schools have never been used, a survey conducted by the Board of Audit revealed.

Under the government’s GIGA (Global and Innovation Gateway for All) school project, each student is assigned a tablet or laptop.

However, the survey showed that approximately 26,000 PCs worth 990 million yen ($6.62 million) in government funds remained unused.

"It was expected that the number of PCs lent to students would increase due to online classes during the coronavirus pandemic, but it seems that many households purchased them independently," said an education ministry official. "We haven’t made sufficient efforts to inform prefectural and municipal governments to consider other uses. We'd like to improve the situation."

Each local government uses state subsidies to purchase PCs for use by students from low-income households that are exempt from the resident tax and eligible for cash allowances for students’ education and other needs.

Despite the expectation to use the technology for school purposes, local governments are also encouraged to consider putting it to use in other ways and the Board of Audit is urging local governments to further promote use of the new laptops.

In fiscal 2021, around 95,000 PCs worth roughly 3.8 billion yen in government funds were purchased by 38 local governments, according to the Board of Audit. The Hokkaido and Osaka prefectural governments are among them.

About 26,000, or 27 percent, of the 95,000 PCs have remained unused as of the end of April this year. In 14 of the 38 local governments, including Shizuoka and Kyoto prefectures, less than 50 percent have made it to students. 

In Ibaraki Prefecture, only 29.8 percent—1,392—of the 4,671 laptops bought were distributed to students. The prefectural government stopped short of exploring other uses for its purchased technology and is still stuck with around 70 percent of the items. 

The Shizuoka city government used 6 percent of the PCs bought, marginally above the Hiroshima city government’s 5 percent.

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