The Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) is committed to eliminating the digital gap.
This was emphasised by Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, at the launch of the Microsoft 365 suite of programmes for teachers and students, held at Excelsior High School in Kingston today.
Mrs. Williams said the introduction of the Microsoft Office 365 for Education in Jamaica’s public schools is a significant step in the implementation of the Ministry’s Technology in Education Policy.
“I am, therefore, very pleased to welcome the partnership with Microsoft, through INOVA Solutions, for making 500,000 licences available to our teachers’ colleges, teachers and students at primary and secondary schools and educators in the early-childhood sector,” she said.
According to the Minister, students who are also on the cusp of entering the world of work will learn the skills to become more competent in the use of applications that are essential in the workplace, making them more workplace-ready and valuable to employers.
Senior Director, Information and Communications Technology Division, MOEY, Tyrone Anderson, in his overview of the programme, described it as a collection of Microsoft productivity tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneNote, Access, Publisher and other applications.
He pointed out that with an Office 365 subscription, students and teachers will be able to create and safely store their files in the cloud; conduct meetings and live classes online; intuitively organise their schoolwork and stay up-to-date on homework and tasks; take notes, organise, and share projects, and collaborate with their peers; access their content from any device, anywhere in the world, and work together in real time on schoolwork and presentations.
Meanwhile, Territory Manager at INOVA Solutions, Jeroen Nederkoorn, said he and his team are thrilled to partner with Microsoft to bring cutting-edge technology to schools in Jamaica.
“Microsoft 365 is the de facto standard for office productivity globally, which means that exposing the students to this technology during their formal education, they will acquire a skill set that will help them advance in their careers,” Mr. Nederkoorn said.
The 500,000 Microsoft 365 for Education licences will be distributed to students and teachers across the island.
The licences are available to users on the moeschools.edu.jm platform and currently cost approximately $52,000,000 annually to maintain, which the Ministry will fund. This price has been significantly discounted by Microsoft and INOVA Solutions.