Huawei Donates 500 Tablets to Education Sector

Global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, Huawei Technologies Company Limited, has donated 500 tablets in support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s ‘One Laptop or Tablet Per Child’ initiative.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, in her remarks at the handover ceremony held on Thursday (December 7) at the Ministry’s National Heroes Circle location in Kingston, thanked the company for its continued support and urged the participation of other entities in the initiative.

“We are pleased with the many companies that have come on board. Huawei has heard the call and has stepped forward to help our children at this point in time when all are feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic globally,” she said.

“I have given my commitment to the Jamaican students that I will not relent until all of them have a device in their hands and are able to connect regardless of whether or not we return to full face-to-face learning,” she added, noting the Ministry’s mandate to strengthen the ICT

infrastructure and to enrich the learning experience for students.

China’s Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Tian Qi, who participated in the ceremony remotely, reiterated the important friendship between the two countries.

“China stands ready to continue to do work with Jamaica to promote exchanges and cooperation in science, technology, education, human resources and information,” he noted.

Noting that the technology firm has been operating in Jamaica for more than 14 years, Regional Executive of Huawei Technologies, Bo Zhou, said the company is committed to improving digital education and the development of the ICT infrastructure locally.

“Huawei believes that access to education is vital to create opportunities that support sustainable development. Today, we cooperate with the Government of Jamaica in its efforts,” he added.

To date, the Chinese multinational technology company has donated a total of 700 tablets to the Jamaican education sector.

This includes 200 devices to the University of Technology (UTech) and the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona last year.