Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-ir) -- Peru's Minister of Education, José Antonio Chang announced that the forty thousand free laptops, which would be provided to elementary school children in the poorest and most rural regions of Peru, would have a virtual library with approximately one hundred books for the children to read.

"Our children, their teachers and parents will have books for each grade - in their schools, homes and within their reach. This is a great opportunity that unfortunately the current education system can not provide school children with limited funds", said Chang.

Furthermore, Peru's minister explained that the elementary school children were being given the laptops as part of President Alan Garcia's program to improve the quality of education throughout the country.

After having personally inspected and seen the progress school children were making in an elementary school in one of Peru's rural regions that was testing the 'One Laptop per Child' program, Minister Chang stated that he was convinced that the use of a laptop contributed to improving the quality of education in the country.

Peru's Ministry of Education will purchase the forty thousand laptops with a 22 million sole loan approved by congress, within the next few months. Forty thousand children in Peru's poorest and most rural regions will begin the 2008 school year with new laptops.