TIRANA, Dec 20 /ATA/ – Over 600 public schools in Albania will set up Smart Labs for students in their pre- university cycles, under a loan agreement with the Council of Europe Development Bank on funding the project Smart Labs – digitalization of the Albanian education system.

Addressing parliament after ratification of the loan agreement, the Minister of Education and Sports Ogerta Manastirliu said that a total of 654 Smart Labs will be installed in schools all over Albania under this project.

“In addition to installation of 654 Smart Smart Labs in over 600 public schools, the project will provide pupils and high school students with access to state-of-the-art technology devices, including interactive digital whiteboards, laptops and small computers for programming, the project envisages capacity building, updating the ICT curriculum, training and continuous professional development of teachers for the ICT subject, as well as providing support materials for teachers and students,” Education Minister told lawmakers.

She underlined that a total of 316 Smart Labs have been already installed in various schools across the country, ensuring proper infrastructure for development of new IT curriculum according to the best international experiences on the development of basic competencies in the world of computers, multimedia, computational thinking, coding and security.

The funding is earmarked to co-finance the implementation of ‘smart labs’ in over 600 schools nationwide, focusing on information and communication technology (ICT). The initiative aims to enhance internet access for approximately 150,000 students and facilitate capacity-building programmes for educators.