Jamaica Education Ministry Hands Over 213 Tablets To Students In Portland

PORTLAND, Jamaica (Friday, October 23, 2020) — More than 200 students, from four primary schools in Portland, were presented with tablets, yesterday, as the government continued the distribution of devices, under the Tablets in Schools Program.

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Fayval Williams, and Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Daryl Vaz, handed over the devices, during ceremonies held at the Buff Bay Primary School and Port Antonio Primary School.

In total, 213 tablets were presented to the students, who are beneficiaries of the Program for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).

Buff Bay Primary received 164 tablets; Charles Town Primary 17; Tranquility Primary and Infant, 21; and St. Margaret’s Bay Primary, 11.

Minister Williams in her address at the handover, held at Buff Bay Primary, encouraged the students to take care of the devices.

“Ensure that you are using these tablets wisely, you’re taking care of them and that they are helping you, in terms of your learning experience,” she advised.

Minister Vaz, in his remarks, noted that the coronavirus (COVID-19) “has made the use and ownership of information and communications technology (ICT) equipment by our students, a necessity”.

“This reality makes the provision of these tablets timely and essential,” he noted.

Vaz said that some 714 students in Portland stand to benefit from devices under the Tablets in Schools Program.

“I want to encourage our students, who will be receiving tablets, to use them wisely and responsibly. These tablets are tools for your educational advancement and we urge you to learn all you can and use them to enhance your knowledge,” he said.

The government, through e-Learning Jamaica (e-LJam), began the distribution of 40,000 tablets to students on PATH on October 2. The devices are targeted at pupils in grades four to six.