Through an ongoing educational-assistance program undertaken by the Ministry of Education- students from Forms I to III will be provided with laptops equipped with modern learning apps to better manage their work load.
On the eve of the reopening of 2022/2023 academic year, 2100 Chromebooks and 2120 tablets will be distributed to secondary and primary school students.
Minister of Education Shawn Edward joined the orientation exercise of incoming first formers at the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School [CCSS], on Thursday, to officially handover laptops to students, marking the commencement of the island wide distribution.
Students from forms one to three will receive laptops equipped with Google for Education Workspace which includes Google classroom, Google Meet, Google docs and other applications which will offer students a multifaceted approach to learning and support teachers with instruction and diversifying options for assessment and record keeping.
The devices were secured as part of the Caribbean Digital Transformation Program (CARDTP), which ultimately seeks to develop a Digitally Enabling Environment in Saint Lucia.
The Ministry of Education, from January 2022 secured over 6700 Chromebooks and more devices are set to be secured, before the academic school year ends, in 2023.
The Minister is elated and wishes to commend all parties involved, working together to be one step closer to achieving the mandate of one laptop per child.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Edward has assured the public that barring any setbacks all is well set for the reopening of the school term on Monday.
On Thursday, in a wide-ranging statement, via the NTN channel, he laid out plans that included school rehabilitation, the one laptop per child programme, incorporating technology in education, and plans to have one university graduate in every household.
He explained that the ministry has spent in excess of $3 million in its ‘summer works’ program to rehabilitate school plants across the country.
“As much as possible we try to provide students and teachers with as comfortable an environment in which to operate,” declared Edward. “And it’s for this reason we went into every school plant and looked at the issues and we were able to work very closely with principals and school administrators to ensure that we tackled the more critical issues that confronted them.”
The repair works are about 98% completed, he said, “and with the one-laptop per child program we have prepared in excess of 4,000 devices for distribution in the school system.”
Speaking on the one-laptop program, Edwards stated that, “we will give (provide) all the impetus that is needed to ensure that one-laptop per child program becomes a success”.
He said the program is “nicely completed by the installation of Smart Classroom Axel at secondary and primary schools.”
The minister notes that government is cognizant of the importance of incorporating technology into lesson delivery for 2022 and beyond and are committed to mobilse the resources to equip students with the devices and the tools they need along with their teachers “to make the education system and the education product that we deliver comparable to what that obtains in more developed countries and observing best practices as much as possible.”
Edward added, “One of the key policy initiates for our government is to have one university graduate per household and we’ve gone about this very diligently.”
Another significant venture being pursued by the ministry, he said, is to provide students aspiring for higher education in excess of 100 university scholarships to be complemented with 150 bursaries for students pursuing studies at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College [SALCC].
He said at the lower level, government continues to make provisions in excess of $2 million to pay facilities’ fees for primary and secondary students in the public school system.
Looking ahead with optimism, Edwards asserted: “We have placed a premium on education, and quality education calls for a lot resources, resources that parents ordinarily would not have at their disposal. And it is for this reason the Minister for Finance and Prime Minster has ensured that the Ministry of Education has access to the national budget to deliver on some of these initiatives.”
Consequently, he says, the ministry is poised for “a smooth and successful opening.”
Edwards added: “These are exciting times for education and I do encourage the parents to play their part …the teachers have always gone beyond the call of duty to ensure that they deliver the best possible education they can to our students in the circumstances.”
He further noted, “In order for education to be a success in this country, every stakeholder must play his or her part …and it is against that backdrop I’m calling on all parents, all our stakeholders to continue to work closely with the ministry of education to ensure that we create that enabling environment so that our children can reach their potential in school, get the training that they need with a view to them becoming productive citizens at the end of that educational journey.”