Panama is about to commit an investment of 273 million dollars in the purchase of laptop computers for students from the official system. The figure, in itself, marks the magnitude of a technological commitment that returns to the center of the national educational debate.
However, a recent study titled The Technological Mirageprepared by Youth United for Education and the Foundation for the Sustainable Development of Panama (Fudespa)warns that the country could be repeating a costly, recurring and, according to available evidence, ineffective strategy.
The document raises an uncomfortable but inevitable question: does the mass delivery of laptops really improve student learning or is it an illusion of modernization with no real impact on classrooms?
The discussion is not new, but it returns with force at a time when the Ministry of Education (Meduca) For the third time, it promotes a process of acquiring technological equipment for students of the official system. The debate, this time, comes with more background, more money at stake and greater pressure for concrete results.
Technological promise that is not always fulfilled
The central point of the report is clear: the mass delivery of computers has not demonstrated significant improvements in academic performance. The research is based on the analysis of more than 150 international studies, whose results point to practically zero effects on learning.
In technical terms, the impact of these programs ranges between 0.00 and 0.05 standard deviations, a magnitude considered statistically insignificant in the educational field. Translated into simple terms: billions of dollars invested in technology have not translated into substantial improvements in math, reading or science.
The study is not limited to figures. It also questions the narrative that has accompanied educational digitalization programs for years: the idea that delivering devices alone transforms education.
To support its approaches, the report draws on experiences from different countries that have implemented mass distribution programs for laptops.
In the case of Peru, for example, around 180 million dollars were invested in the delivery of 850,000 computers to primary schools. After eight years of evaluation, the results were conclusive: no significant improvements were observed in student learning.
Uruguay, considered one of the regional leaders in educational digitalization with its almost universal coverage program, also did not achieve relevant academic advances, despite having a more solid infrastructure than most countries in the region.
In Colombia, the panorama is even more complex. Some evaluations have even detected negative effects on certain groups of students, which reinforces the idea that technology, without a clear pedagogical strategy, can not only be ineffective, but counterproductive.
In contrast, the report highlights experiences such as India, where the focus was not on the delivery of devices, but on the use of software adaptive educational. These programs, designed to fit the level of each student, would have generated significantly greater improvements in learning, at much lower costs.
The message is consistent: the problem is not the technology, but how it is used.
Panama and a history that repeats itself
In the Panamanian case, the discussion takes on an additional nuance: the reiteration of a model that has been applied on several occasions without conclusive impact evaluations.
Since 2024, Meduca has tried to structure a new laptop acquisition program. Initially, the plan contemplated an investment of approximately 241.7 million dollars for the purchase of 654,000 pieces of equipment for students and teachers from seventh to twelfth grades.
This project was proposed through an agreement with the international foundation One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a global initiative that sought to reduce the digital divide in developing countries.
However, the agreement did not come to fruition. The Comptroller General of the Republic did not endorse the agreement, which prevented its execution. Added to this were questions about the lack of prior approval from the Cabinet Council, a requirement established in public procurement regulations.
Far from stopping the process, in 2025 Meduca reoriented the strategy towards a public tender structured in three lines, which included the acquisition of technological equipment and digital licenses. The document, with a reference value of 230.2 million dollars, contemplated the purchase of 585,250 laptops and 21,000 Microsoft M365 A3 licenses.
Read the full study here:
The process aroused the interest of 47 companies, which showed strong competition in the technology sector. However, complaints also arose that led to a temporary suspension of the process, later lifted by the General Directorate of Public Procurement in November 2025.
Finally, the result was partial: only one of the items was awarded, the purchase of equipment for teachers, assigned to the company IS Group for 28.4 million dollars. The lines intended for students were declared void.
Given this scenario, Meduca decided to relaunch the process in February 2026, this time with a new tender for the acquisition of 531,250 laptops, under more demanding technical specifications that include processors with at least six cores, artificial intelligence processing units (NPU), 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB SSD storage and a minimum autonomy of 16 hours.
Millionaire investment amid gaps
The report warns that Panama accumulates two decades of investment in educational technology without conclusive evaluations of its real impact on learning. This lack of measurement has made it impossible to determine whether or not previous programs achieved their objectives.
Meanwhile, Meduca has defended these efforts as part of a strategy to modernize the educational system and reduce the digital divide, especially in rural and indigenous areas where access to technological tools remains limited.
However, educational indicators continue to show significant lags. In international evaluations such as PISA, Panama remains among the last places, with more than 80% of students without achieving minimum competencies in mathematics.
The real debate: beyond devices
Beyond the purchase of equipment, the underlying debate has shifted towards a deeper question: what factors really determine learning?
The experts cited in the report agree that variables such as teaching quality, family environment, nutrition and teaching methodologies have a significantly greater impact than the incorporation of technology in the classroom.
From that perspective, technology is not discarded, but it is relativized. Its effectiveness depends on its integration within a clear pedagogical strategy, accompanied by teacher training, monitoring and evaluation of results.
The risk, they warn, is to turn it into an end in itself, when in reality it should only be a means.
A decision that transcends technology
The report concludes with a warning that goes beyond the technical debate: each educational investment decision also implies a decision about the future of the country.
Panama once again faces a crossroads. You can insist on a model focused on device purchases or you can reframe your approach toward educational policies based on evidence, assessment, and measurable outcomes.
The question, ultimately, is not whether laptops are useful or not. The question is whether, in their current form of implementation, they are really changing education or whether they are just filling classrooms with technology without transforming learning.
And much more is at stake in that response than a $273 million tender: at stake is the opportunity to break a cycle that, according to the evidence, Panama has repeated for too long.
This medium requested a version from Meduca on the subject, but at the closing of the note there was no response.
