Bidders asked to supply 400,000 tablets each

Supinda na Mahachai

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The successful bidders in the next round of the One Tablet Per Child scheme will supply more than 400,000 devices each, up from 140,000-180,000 called for under the original resolution.

"If we buy in bigger bulk each time, we should be in a better position to bargain for the lowest price," Chinnapat Bhumirat, secretary-general of the Basic Education Commission, said yesterday.

The old resolution called for bidding for up to five zones for Pathom 1 students and five zones for Mathayom 1 students.

Yesterday's meeting of the panel overseeing the OTPC scheme, chaired by Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana, revised the resolution to just two zones for each grade. The government is preparing to hand out PC tablets to students under the OTPC scheme.

SPECULATION DISMISSED

Chinnapat dismissed speculation that the change might favour large vendors.

"We believe there will be at least three qualified bidders for each zone," he said.

However, large players usually had a more solid system for after-sales service, he said.

As part of the detailed tablet-procurement plan now being drafted for Cabinet consideration, the procurement for all zones would be by e-auction.

"We have already consulted the Comptroller-General's Department about this," he said.

The budgets are estimated at Bt2,720 for a Pathom 1 tablet and Bt2,920 for a Mathayom 1 tablet, he added.

-- The Nation 2013-01-16

Too bad that when the kids in 80 % of Thailand have a bad tooth, they yank it out instead of a proper filling or a root canal.

more opportunities for little brown envelopes going this route

Too bad that when the kids in 80 % of Thailand have a bad tooth, they yank it out instead of a proper filling or a root canal.

The budgets are estimated at Bt2,720 for a Pathom 1 tablet and Bt2,920 for a Mathayom 1 tablet, he added.

You'd think they went for the same tablets suitable up to Mathayom 1.

Too bad that when the kids in 80 % of Thailand have a bad tooth, they yank it out instead of a proper filling or a root canal.

Maybe he has not had his coffee yet...

An auction with three bidders should ensure a fair price with no collusion.

Just like the Pojaman land case and the 3G bids.

Are all 900,000 tabletPC for the running school year (which finishes in two months time) already delivered and in the hands of P1 kids?

The budgets are estimated at Bt2,720 for a Pathom 1 tablet and Bt2,920 for a Mathayom 1 tablet, he added.

Why they need a bidding process for that ? They are available retail at that price at any IT center in Thailand.

Ooops I forgot the envelopes

The budgets are estimated at Bt2,720 for a Pathom 1 tablet and Bt2,920 for a Mathayom 1 tablet, he added.

Why they need a bidding process for that ? They are available retail at that price at any IT center in Thailand.

Ooops I forgot the envelopes

Just what I was thinking. Just picked myself up the I Mobile I Note2 WiFi 7 inch for 3900 at Larksee.It's wonderful, by the way!

Well at least someone learned their maths. Bigger order + bigger company = bigger kickback.

The budgets are estimated at Bt2,720 for a Pathom 1 tablet and Bt2,920 for a Mathayom 1 tablet, he added.

Why they need a bidding process for that ? They are available retail at that price at any IT center in Thailand.

Ooops I forgot the envelopes

Just what I was thinking. Just picked myself up the I Mobile I Note2 WiFi 7 inch for 3900 at Larksee.It's wonderful, by the way!

7" tabs from Onda or Ainol with wifi, 3G compatible and Cortex ARM 9 dualcore cpu are available at below 2990 Baht retail price in Thailand, These are the market leaders in the Chinese tablets.

If you take a look at the Onda website you will see that they give up to 30% discount on that price for bulk purchase, and I think they don't expect it to be 400.000 pieces,

When the people of this country gonna wake up?

I love the expression of the young Thai boy in the back looking at the photographer in this obviously staged photo op. He looks like he is thinking, now what the heck do I do with this? Can I play some games already?? Another futile attempt at changing the education system for the unfortunate children in Thailand. Nothing but eye candy for the masses to keep them thinking their elected officials know what the hell they are doing.

What brand of Tablet are they using?

What brand of Tablet are they using?

Not the green one yet.

I love the expression of the young Thai boy in the back looking at the photographer in this obviously staged photo op. He looks like he is thinking, now what the heck do I do with this? Can I play some games already?? Another futile attempt at changing the education system for the unfortunate children in Thailand. Nothing but eye candy for the masses to keep them thinking their elected officials know what the hell they are doing.

Would you think that the kids in the picture are actually the only ones that have received a Tab so far ?

What brand of Tablet are they using?

The tea-tab.

What brand of Tablet are they using?

The tea-tab.

Yeap....the calculator function automatically deducts the 10% brown envelope "fee" in any calculation...