Apple extends discounts to UAE schools, businesses

Schools in the UAE have come a step closer into making their classrooms free of printed textbooks following an Apple decision to extend a bulk purchase discount to this market.

The UAE became one of 16 new countries where Apple has expanded its Volume Purchase Program (VPP).

What it means is that, when purchasing 20 or more copies of the ibooks, schools get a 50 per cent discount compared to normal pricing.

The programme will cover educational institutions as well as private business establishments. Business units in the UAE can purchase any apps or interactive books at a much discounted rate.

The list of new countries displayed on Apple’s website includes Belgium, Hong Kong, Norway, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey, and the UAE, among others.

According to Apple, developers can offer education institutions special pricing on apps through VPP. “If a developer has enabled education pricing, institutions receive a 50 per cent discount when purchasing in quantities of 20 or more,” it said on its website.

Many schools are moving towards digital textbooks. It has also helped them cut down on printing costs.

A senior official of Gems Education earlier this year told Emirates 24|7 that the time for adoption is fast overdue and UAE too is moving along that direction.

Educational gadgets to replace textbooks in 5-10 years, says UAE’s biggest school group

He also said that the biggest hurdle here was the lack of textbooks on the Apple store that was locally relevant.

When asked if tablets had indeed replaced textbooks at his schools in the UAE, Dino Varkey, Group COO at Gems Education in January this year said: “We would love to reach to that point but at this point we deliver other people’s national curriculum. And the assessments and exams are still being decided by them. This is one of our constraints while trying to get rid of textbooks.”

Apple meanwhile had introduced iBooks Author, an app which schools can use to create relevant textbooks including interactive content on their own.

Apple notes that technology has the power to transform the classroom, paving way for new thinking and ideas. It has posted videos about real stories about how education institutions and schools are using Apple products to change the way they teach and learn.

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