Pupils Suffer in Schools Computer Row

PSoftware has been wiped from thousands of school computers because of a row over Government funding. Microsoft Office programs have been ordered to be removed from about 25,000 Apple Macintosh computers in schools. The Ministry of Education did not renew its deal for the programs, meaning that students using the Apple computers will not have access to common programs such as Excel and Word unless the school buys the software independently. It is thought to affect around 30 per cent of all schools nationwide