The Ministry of Education of Panama is making a third attempt to purchase over half a million laptops for public school students. Officials launched a new public tender on February 12, 2026, seeking bids for 531,250 computers valued at $273.1 million after a previous attempt failed to attract proposals.
This latest effort follows a complex and stalled procurement process that began in 2024. The goal is to equip students from seventh to twelfth grade with modern technology, a key part of the government’s strategy to reduce the digital divide in Panamanian classrooms.
“The strategy is not limited to delivering equipment, but includes a comprehensive plan for content and technological integration in the classrooms, aligned with the Entre Pares project,” said Deputy Administrative Minister of Education, Roberto Sevillano. [Translated from Spanish]
The Ministry must now evaluate new proposals under the relaunched scheme. A meeting to homologate bids for this new public act was scheduled for Thursday, February 26.
A Procurement Process Marked by Setbacks
This tender represents the Ministry’s third approach to securing student computers since 2024. The initial plan involved an approximately $241.7 million agreement with the international One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) foundation. That deal, signed by then Minister Lucy Molinar, collapsed after Panama’s Comptroller General refused to endorse it.
Authorities also questioned the agreement’s lack of prior approval from the Council of Cabinet, a requirement under national public procurement rules. The failed deal underscored the challenges of large-scale educational technology acquisitions.
In 2025, the Ministry shifted to a formal public tender. That process included three lots for teacher laptops, student laptops, and digital licenses. Published in September 2025, it outlined the purchase of 585,250 computers and 21,000 Microsoft M365 A3 licenses with a reference value of $230.2 million.
Nearly 50 companies expressed initial interest. The procedure faced formal complaints and a temporary suspension before Panama’s Directorate of Public Procurement lifted the hold in November 2025. Ultimately, only one lot was awarded.
Partial Award and New Technical Demands
From the 2025 tender, the Ministry awarded Lot No. 2 to the company IS Group on January 29, 2026. That contract covers 54,000 personal computers for teachers at a global price of $28,482,651. The lots for student laptops and licenses were declared deserted, receiving no valid bids.
Deputy Minister Sevillano confirmed the Ministry is advancing the execution of that teacher laptop contract. It is currently in the contractual preparation phase for final endorsement. The student laptop purchase, however, required a fresh start.
The new tender specifications demand high-performance machines capable of supporting advanced educational tools. Required laptops must feature processors with at least six cores and an integrated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) of 40 Tops or higher. This allows the devices to run artificial intelligence functions offline.
Additional mandatory specs include 16 gigabytes of DDR5 RAM, a 512-gigabyte NVMe solid-state drive, a 14-inch Full HD display, and a battery with a minimum 16-hour life. The Ministry also set strict physical and digital security requirements, including impact resistance, privacy shutters on cameras, and Kensington lock slots.
Each device must be delivered with a pre-installed original operating system, a perpetual license compatible with Microsoft 365, and educational applications. For asset control, laptops will be personalized with the institutional logo serigraphed on the cover and embedded in the BIOS.
Some interested bidders from the previous process have reportedly criticized the new tender documents. They argue the technical specifications remain largely unchanged despite multiple recommendations from various companies during the earlier failed round.
Broader Push for Digital Integration
Officials frame the laptop initiative as one component of a wider technological upgrade for Panama’s public schools. Sevillano connected the procurement to ongoing efforts to improve internet connectivity across the educational system.
He noted that 1,223 educational centers currently have high-speed internet. This is part of a new tender aiming to guarantee total connectivity for the official system. The deputy minister emphasized the goal is not just wider coverage but a service “one hundred times better” than before.
The Ministry’s public statements link these infrastructure projects to the formal start of the 2026 school year, which reportedly began with a 99.5 percent school opening rate. Investments in infrastructure maintenance and teacher training are being promoted concurrently under the government’s education branding.
Securing the student laptops, a significant line item in the national budget, remains a pending task. The success of this latest tender will determine if the Ministry can finally execute this part of its digital inclusion plan. The scale of the proposed purchase, involving millions for technological tools, highlights the financial weight of the policy.
If successful, the program would provide devices for students across the country. The Ministry hopes modern tools will strengthen the teaching-learning process and help close the digital gap keeping Panama lagging behind other nations.
The coming weeks will reveal whether suppliers can meet the stringent technical demands at the government’s reference price. The Ministry’s persistence indicates a strong political commitment to the project, despite the procedural hurdles. The outcome will significantly impact the technological resources available to a generation of Panamanian public school students.