50 Per Cent of Jamaica’s Primary and High Schools Now Have Internet Access

Approximately 50 per cent of Jamaica’s primary and high schools have, so far, been connected to the Internet, according to Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams.

“We are about half-way there, and we will continue to ensure that all our schools, no matter where they are in Jamaica, have adequate broadband connectivity, so that we can truly use technology in the classroom in a real way,” she stated.

Mrs. Williams was speaking during Hand & Mind LLC’s inaugural Robotics and turkey International Youth Robotics Conference, held recently at the Holiday Inn Resort in St. James.

The Minister advised that training in computer coding has also been introduced in the island’s institutions.

“We have been training our teachers, and our children have been getting up to speed on it. Not that we are saying that they must become master coders. But [we want] to expose them to this language that the computer knows so that they can, at least, see [or] begin to see what it is and experiment with giving instructions to a computer,” she outlined.

Mrs. Williams said the Government is also ensuring that technology labs in all high schools have been updated.

“We are pleased that we are able to do that for all our high schools. So, if you walk into any high school now, you are supposed to see a brand spanking new technology lab, which gives more accessibility to students,” she indicated.

The two-day Robotics and turkey conference, which concluded on November 25, was aimed at improving FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team performance in the upcoming qualifying tournaments.

It targeted team members, coaches, parents and sponsors.

Hand and Mind LLC provides coaching to FLL robotics teams.

FIRST is the leading global youth-serving nonprofit entity advancing STEM education.

FLL introduces Science, Technology, Reengineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to children, aged four to 16 through hands-on learning.

Participants gain real-world problem-solving experience through a guided, global robotics programme.

There are approximately 45,000 FLL teams worldwide.

Several key stakeholders in education and STEM from across the region made presentations to the participants, who included children from robotics teams in the United States and Jamaica.