Lucea and Sandy Bay Primary students receive tablets
ST JAMES, Jamaica— Students attending Lucea Primary and Sandy Bay Primary and Junior High schools in Hanover are the latest beneficiaries under the Government’s Tablets in Schools Programme.
Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Fayval Williams, participated in the handover of devices to 165 pupils from Lucea Primary and 99 from Sandy Bay during ceremonies held yesterday at the institutions.
Williams said that the provision of the tablets is only one component of the overall scheme.
She noted that the other components include built-in safety features on the devices, Internet connectivity, training for teachers and more.
“We at the ministry stepped forward and we are rolling out and making sure that at least 100 schools that did not have Internet connectivity, that those schools get it. So far, we are at 40 of the 100 schools and the implementation is continuing,” Williams said.
She urged the students to take care of the devices.
“Keep them safe. They will be with you for a long time. We want you to use it to enrich your learning experience to help to accelerate your learning. On the extent that you succeed, Jamaica succeeds,” she added.
Meanwhile, over at Sandy Bay Primary, parents are welcoming the provision of tables to their children.
Matthew Brooks said that the device will be of great help to his son Justin, who is in grade four.
“This Tablets in Schools Programme is very important. It is very essential for the kids. My son has gotten a tablet [and] as a parent I will be looking forward to helping my son to use his,” he said.
“So it is a very good thing that the Government is doing,” he added.
Another parent, Keneisha Sealie, said that the device will enable her son to access online classes, as he “didn’t have any tablet before”.
The ministry, through e-Learning Jamaica (e-LJam), is distributing 40,000 tablets to grades four to six students, who are beneficiaries under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).
A total of 34,200 devices have been handed over since October 2 and the remainder are expected to be distributed over the next few weeks.
