We are all perfectly aware that computers are a necessary part of every day life for each and every one of us, at least in the Western world anyway. We need to be able to operate computers for work, for social reasons, for accessing important information and even for filling application forms online.
Although computer related subjects are taught at schools, it is a sad fact that many people still cannot afford to buy their own computer and develop the necessary skills and experience that is required to function effectively in today’s modern technological age.
Also, with the current economic climate, they are unlikely to be able to do so in the near future and sadly, this is going to affect the children and their future the most. However, the Spanish Government has decided to take some positive action to ensure that their young people are not at a disadvantage in years to come.
From this September, the Spanish government has decided to provide every single school child in their fifth year of primary education with a laptop of their own. Apparently Spain’s Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapaterno has said in a speech to Parliament that the initiative will provide around 420,000 children of around ten years of age in the next school year with a laptop.
That’s not all. Spain are also taking steps to help their unemployed by making 70 million euros available to help unemployed people between the ages of 25 and 40 to attend university completely free of charge. To put this figure into perspective, that equates to around 62 million pounds or 95 million dollars.
This is a welcome move by Spain’s unemployed population which has almost doubled over the past year reaching 17.4 percent in the first quarter. This is the highest level of unemployment in 27 countries within the European Union and represents twice the European Union average. It is also double that of the United States.
There is no immediate recovery in sight either. The European Commission predict that this figure will rise to 20.5% in the next year and that Spain is likely to struggle longer and harder than other countries to recover from the global recession.
Now though, at least the young and the unemployed have a ray of hope and will no doubt be in a better position in the future as a result of these latest initiatives.
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