Number of Russian schools with Internet seen doubling in 2 years

SARANSK, Dec 13 (Prime-Tass) — Russia’s Education and Science Ministry expects the number of schools connected to the Internet to rise to between 35,000 and 40,000 within two years from about 20,000 as of now, Education and Science Minister Andrei Fursenko said Tuesday, ITAR-TASS reported.

Currently, there are about 64,000 schools in Russia, Fursenko said.

The government launched a program aimed at equipping Russian schools with computers five years ago, Fursenko said, adding that, as a result of the program, the number of computers per student in Russian schools has risen to one computer per 57 students from one computer per 270 students.

Alexei Anopchenko, an official with the Science and Education Ministry, said earlier that the government planned to invest 3 billion rubles in providing Russian schools with IT equipment, including buying computers and connecting schools to the Internet. (28.8571 rubles – U.S. $1) End

(c) Prime-TASS