Students from schools across the island have started to receive 4,103 computer tablets donated by the Republic of Korea, valued more than $92 million.
The devices were officially handed over to some of the schools and the National Education Trust (NET), at the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in downtown Kingston today (November 7).
Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, said since the launch of the One Tablet per Child Initiative in 2020, geared at having more students participating in online learning, and to have a mixed modality of teaching and learning, the Ministry has moved to ensure that more schools are better equipped to help their students and teachers have the resources needed to be better prepared for a contemporary society.
She pointed out that the donation is the largest to have been received from the Ministry’s partners, adding that it is a “significant investment” in the country’s future, and it “supports our efforts to accelerate the push towards digital literacy among our children”.
“While distance learning and online courses predated the (COVID-19) pandemic, there is an intensification in the push to get more people operating in the digital space with a great deal more comfort,” the Minister added.
She said a world in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other aspects of technology are gaining greater importance, the Administration has a responsibility to help children get ready for their future.
“With an improved infrastructure, technology will allow us to give our children, regardless of their social background, where they live or the jobs their parents do, the same chance to meet people, if not in person, then via the Internet to help them understand the wide range of opportunities open to them,” Mrs. Williams argued.
For her part, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, said since April 2020, the Republic of Korea has donated more than US$2 million worth of medical supplies and technology, and has now answered Jamaica’s call for support to the education system.
“This support demonstrates the priority the Government has placed on education and deleting the digital divide,” she said, while thanking Korea’s Chargé d’Affaires, Jin-wook Kim, for “garnering your Government’s support for this initiative”.
Meanwhile, the Chargé d’Affaires said his country believes that technology can bridge gaps and enhance education, and “we stand with Jamaica in this endeavour, and will continue to work hand in hand for the betterment of our peoples”.
Student at the Abilities Foundation, Jerome Pryce, said the tablets will empower students to be “productive citizens, and we appreciate the efforts” that were made to get the computers to Jamaica.
Principal of Meadowbrook High School, Kevin Facey, said the devices will help to build bridges across the globe for the beneficiaries, and “I look forward to the changes that will happen”.
