Schools will get heavily discounted software updates to keep older computers running Windows 10 when support for the operating system ceases this year.
Microsoft will no longer provide free software updates for Windows 10 after October 14, with the company warning that computers still running the system may stop working.
Private owners face an annual bill of at least $61 (£45) to continue receiving the updates, which include security support.
Earlier this month, Lord Knight, a Labour peer, asked ministers for the estimated cost to schools in England.
Baroness Smith said devices that met requirements for Windows 11 would be updated free, and that the DfE and Microsoft had “validated” a discounted plan for extended security updates on Windows 10 devices.
Schools will pay $1 per device for the first year of support, $2 in the second and $4 in the third. Prices will be based on foreign exchange rates at the point of ordering.
Lord Knight said he was “delighted”.
“Inevitably, laptops do need replacing because they become technically obsolete, regardless of updates. So this is, I think, quite a welcome opportunity.”
According to a government survey, 95 per cent of secondary schools and 43 per cent of primaries have desktop computers.
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