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Education: Germany Invests 5bn Euros in Digital Pact for Schools

Shortly before Christmas, the federal and state governments in Germany agreed to continue the “Digital Pact for Schools.” The Digital Pact 2.0 will allocate a total of five billion euros by 2030 to support the digitization of schools, including the installation of interactive whiteboards. The digital signage industry, in particular, has benefited from the pact in recent years.

The federal and state governments want to continue to invest in upgrades in digital infrastructure and training in schools across Germany. The current digital pact (toalling 5bn Euros) expires at the end of the year. The key points for the Digital Pact for Schools 2.0 were presented in a joint statement on Friday.

The Digital Pact 2.0 builds on the previous Digital Pact for Schools (2019 – 2024). Its aim is to further expand the digital education infrastructure in Germany and use it sustainably. In addition to the expansion of the digital infrastructure (such as interactive digital whiteboards in classrooms and digital signage in schools) the investments should also support additional teacher training.

Five billion euros by 2030

The Digital Pact 2.0 provides another five billion euros for the next six years. The federal government will provide 2.5 billion euros, with the majority of 2.25 billion euros going towards investments in digital education infrastructure. The federal states responsible for schools and education will also contribute a total of 2.5 billion euros. However, a large proportion of these funds, 2 billion euros, will come from credits for state measures already planned.

2.75 billion for new digital infrastructure

Whether 2.75 billion euros – 2.25bn federal and .5bn state investmenst will really be invested in large format displays, WiFi and broadband internet over the next five years also depends on the new federal government, which will take over from the current coalition after snap elections next February.