Computers donation for teachers and students in Africa

Trainee teachers and students in Africa will receive 1000 used Scottish Government computers as part of a charity partnership.

The computers, which are no longer suitable for corporate use, will be sent to Malawi for use in educational projects.

The IT equipment has been donated by the Information and Technology Services Division to the Turing Trust.

The trust – which was co-founded by James Turing in honour of his great uncle and Second World War codebreaker Alan Turing – supports education in sub-Saharan Africa by reusing computers and improving teacher training using ICT.

International development minister Ben Macpherson said: “I’m very pleased that the Scottish Government will be donating 1000 more computers to the Turing Trust, an excellent charity that works to improve digital literacy in sub-Saharan Africa.

“These computers will be serviced and securely cleansed of data before being taken to Malawi for use by students and trainee teachers.

“We’re delighted to be extending the useful life of this computer equipment and, by doing so, improving the IT literacy and career prospects of hundreds of people.”

It comes after the charity, based in Edinburgh, was awarded £60000 from the International Small Grants Programme this year to train 80 teachers in Malawi.

They will teach 9000 girls who would otherwise be excluded from digital literacy lessons because of gender, disability or where they live.

James Turing said: “All of us at the Turing Trust are delighted that the Scottish Government are continuing to support us with their used IT equipment.

“This donation of 1000 PCs will help about 18000 students to learn vital IT skills. Beyond this the environmental impact from the donation will offset 280 tonnes of CO2 emissions, which is the equivalent of planting 700 trees.

“Our thanks go out to everyone at the Scottish Government for making this possible.”