What Happened
The Ministry of Education has once again launched a public tender to buy laptops for students in the official school system, with a reference price of $268.5 million. The process seeks to acquire 531,250 computers at a unit price of $472.38, plus $33.07 in ITBMS, for a total of $505.45 per device.
The bidding notice was published on May 12 through Panama Compra, and interested companies must submit their proposals electronically on May 22, 2026. The tender sets a 10% proposal bond requirement, asks for proven experience in similar supply contracts, and requires a minimum annual turnover of $20 million in recent financial statements.
The contract includes an advance payment equal to 20% of the total value for the purchase of memory and disks, while the rest will be paid in partial installments after each delivery is received to satisfaction.
Delivery Plan Across the Country
The program is designed to distribute the laptops between 2026 and 2029. The first stage will take place in 2026, with 325,000 devices to be delivered within 150 calendar days after the notice to proceed. The first batch of 40,000 units must arrive within the first 90 days.
Three additional deliveries of 68,750 computers each are scheduled for January 2027, January 2028, and January 2029. The equipment will be distributed gradually through the country’s regional education offices, including Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, Darién, and the Emberá, Ngäbe Buglé and Guna Yala comarcas.
The tendered contract would last 2,036 calendar days, covering delivery time, 1,826 days of warranty and technical support, and the period needed for contract settlement.
Another Attempt After Previous Setbacks
This is the latest in a series of attempts by Education Minister Lucy Molinar to secure laptops for students. One earlier effort involved an agreement with the international foundation One Laptop Per Child, which planned to buy 654,000 laptops for teachers and students for about $241.7 million. That arrangement did not move forward after the Comptroller General withheld approval and questions arose over the lack of prior Cabinet authorization.
In September 2025, the ministry launched a three-part tender that covered laptops for teachers, laptops for students and Microsoft M365 A3 licenses. The reference value for that process was $230.2 million for 585,250 computers and 21,000 licenses. Only the teacher-laptop segment was awarded, to IS Group, which is to deliver 54,000 devices for $28.4 million; the other two sections were declared deserted.
A second tender was published in February 2026 for 531,250 laptops for students and 21,000 software licenses, with a total value of $268.5 million. In that process, GBM de Panamá, S.A. won only the software-license portion, worth $4,445,700.
Debate Over Education Priorities
The renewed push for laptops has again sparked criticism from teachers’ groups. Armando Espinosa, leader of the Asociación de Maestros Independientes Auténticos, said those funds should instead go toward building and rehabilitating about 3,000 computer classrooms nationwide.
Espinosa argued that permanent computer labs would be cheaper, last longer and benefit nearly all students, while the laptop plan would not reach even 60% of the student population and would exclude preschool and primary students. He also said portable computers tend to have a useful life of only two or three years.
He pointed to past technology initiatives under the administrations of Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela, saying they ultimately failed because the devices disappeared or were left unused. He also said schools still face more urgent needs, including more than 1,400 makeshift classrooms, schools without drinking water or electricity, and a shortage of textbooks, labs and basic teaching materials in subjects such as math, science, chemistry and English.
The new tender now places the ministry’s digital education strategy back under scrutiny as it tries again to move forward with one of the country’s largest school technology purchases.