The Government will shortly do a full roll-out of the Tablets in Schools initiative, following a successful pilot stage of the programme. Making the disclosure in the 2017/18 Sectoral Debate in the House on April 18, Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, said e-Learning Jamaica has done a reassessment of the project, and Cabinet will...

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, says the Government has realised savings of some $131.5 million through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programme (EECP). “This is money that can be diverted to other areas, such as social and infrastructural development,” he said. He noted that the programme, being undertaken in collaboration with international funding partners,...

The Universal Service Fund (USF) will be conducting a review of some of the existing Community Access Point (CAP) facilities, with the aim of adding renewable energy to reduce the operating costs. “We have done research and our findings show that a number of CAPs are having a challenge in staying afloat due to the overhead expenses, so we thought...

Come April 1, the Jamaica Library Service (JLS) will be implementing an Integrated Library Management System (ILMS) called Koha, to improve the efficiency of the library’s operations as well as service for users. Koha is an automated open-source management system used by public libraries worldwide. Elaborating on the use of the system, Acting Director, Information Technology at JLS, Dwight Grant,...

The Jamaica Library Service (JLS) is hailing the Global Libraries ICT Project as a major success, as it has significantly transformed public libraries across the island through increased access to technology. The project, dubbed ‘JLS: Using Technology to Empower Individuals and Communities for Development’, is funded by a US$2-million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries Initiative,...

All Government websites can now be accessed free of cost from any Internet-compatible device. This has been announced by Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, who noted that “all 256 government websites are (now) zero-rated”. This means that persons can browse these sites without incurring Internet service charges. “Once you have connection, whether through a...

The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) and the University of Technology  (UTech) have signed an agreement that will result in the corporation providing $5 million to bolster research and development as well as to fund a scholarship in engineering and energy at the university. One million dollars will be made available through grant funding to underwrite the cost of the...