The Ministry of Education has said it has begun its distribution to teachers and students of the last tranche of 20,000 laptops procured by the government.
In a statement, it said the distribution began on Thursday and will continue until September 30.
It said since March 2020 the ministry has distributed 14,608 laptops under the government laptop distribution programme to primary, secondary, and special schools and 6,659 to teachers.
“Data collected from all primary and secondary schools in September revealed that 2,612 teachers, and 2,365 students were identified as requiring devices,” said the statement. “All requirements will be met during this week-long distribution period.”
It said the ministry also began distributing MiFi devices to teachers and students on Thursday.
“Of the 10,000 procured, 1,300 have been received and will be distributed over the week-long period. Distributions will continue as more MiFi devices arrive.”
As the ministry continues to provide for the blended school environment, it said, it will also focus on connectivity in schools.
“Through a collaboration with the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), and agency of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the contracting of required services, 134 secondary and 72 primary school plants will benefit from enhanced WiFi connectivity.”
It said 28 of the 72 primary schools have received enhanced WiFi access in designated areas such as the principal’s office, staffroom, computer lab and library.
Minister of Education Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said, “To achieve equity in quality education in any environment, and more so under our current realities, requires the input and support of multiple agencies.
“What has been achieved to date would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of the executive and staff of the ministry; particularly the information communication technology (ICT), school supervision and educational planning divisions, our sponsors, corporate TT – who provided over 23,000 devices directly to students through the Adopt-A-School initiative – TATT and the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
"I want to say thank you on behalf of the children of this nation.”
The statement said vulnerable students and teachers have benefited from these initiatives and now have the opportunity to access tools for teaching and learning.
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