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Changes coming for Tablets in Schools programme

There will be changes to the Jamaican Government's Tablets In Schools programme when the next phase is implemented.

Education Minister Ruel Reid announced on Thursday that the programme will shortly be introduced in teachers colleges as well, thereby preparing teachers "so that they themselves see that the devices are useful."

Senator Reid added that students will no longer be able to keep the tablets, as "the government does not have the resources to provide a tablet for each student."

Students will be asked to bring their own tablets, he said, but the government will also provide a set of the devices for each class, to be retained in the school, rather than allowing the students to take these home. 

In the meantime, Julian Robinson, former State Minister in the Ministry of Technology, is in agreement with the government's plan to stop allowing students to keep equipment issued under the Tablets in Schools programme. 
 
However, Mr. Robinson told RJR News that the plan is not new. The former junior minister said he, along with technocrats during his tenure, recognised that it would have been too costly to continue financing the programme in that manner.
     
He said based on the review of the pilot project, which cost about $1.4 billion, this was part of a plan which was in the works.
 
"The pilot that was done, each student had his or her own tablet and the student was allowed to take home the tablet. It would be very expensive to roll out that programme across all schools across the entire country," he said.
 
"So what we were developing when we left office, was to provide to students and to schools, a set of tablets that the schools would have that would be rotated among the students... Every student would have access to the tablets, but they would not be allowed to take it home," outlined the former state minister. 
 
Mr. Robinson, however, dismissed the Education Minister's comment that the Tablets in Schools programme was not properly developed.
     
Senator Reid stated that a common concern is that teacher training institutions were ignored. But, according to Mr. Robinson, this is not true.
 
"We trained 1,200 teachers before the tablet programme was actually rolled out - Sam Sharpe Teachers' College was a part of the pilot programme - so in fact, and in truth, teachers were very much part of the process in the roll out of the pilot programme," he insisted. 

 

                                                            

   

 



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