More Student-teachers to Have Access to Smart Labs
By: , August 16, 2025
Photo: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr. Kasan Troupe centre) and President of the College of Agriculture, Science and Education CASE) in Portland, Dr. Derrick Deslandes right), sign a Memorandum of Understanding MoU) for the installation of a smart lab at the institution, while Chairman of Digicel Foundation, Joy Clark left), looks on. The MoU was signed on Friday Aug. 15) at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle headquarters in Kingston. Under the agreement, a smart lab will also be established at Church Teachers’ College in Manchester.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr. Kasan Troupe (centre) and President of the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland, Dr. Derrick Deslandes (right), sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the installation of a smart lab at the institution, while Chairman of Digicel Foundation, Joy Clark (left), looks on. The MoU was signed on Friday (Aug. 15) at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle headquarters in Kingston. Under the agreement, a smart lab will also be established at Church Teachers’ College in Manchester.
Photo: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr. Kasan Troupe second right) signs a Memorandum of Understanding MoU) for the establishment of a smart lab at the Church Teachers’ College in Manchester. Looking on from left) are Acting Vice Principal of Administrative Affairs at the institution, Samantha Radway Morrison; Digicel Foundation Chairman, Joy Clark; and Church Teachers’ College Board Chairman, Rev. Father Franklin Jackson. Under the agreement, which was signed on Friday Aug. 15) at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle headquarters in Kingston, a smart lab will also be established at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education CASE) in Portland.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr. Kasan Troupe (second right) signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of a smart lab at the Church Teachers’ College in Manchester. Looking on (from left) are Acting Vice Principal of Administrative Affairs at the institution, Samantha Radway Morrison; Digicel Foundation Chairman, Joy Clark; and Church Teachers’ College Board Chairman, Rev. Father Franklin Jackson. Under the agreement, which was signed on Friday (Aug. 15) at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle headquarters in Kingston, a smart lab will also be established at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland.
Photo: Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon second right) and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Kasan Troupe right) share in light conversation with from left) President of the Portland-based College of Agriculture, Science and Education CASE), Dr. Derrick Deslandes; Chairman of Digicel Foundation, Joy Clark; and Board Chairman of Church Teachers’ College in Manchester, Rev. Father Franklin Jackson. Occasion was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding MoU) on Friday Aug. 15), at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle location in Kingston for the establishment of smart labs at CASE and Church Teachers’ College.
Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon (second right) and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Kasan Troupe (right) share in light conversation with (from left) President of the Portland-based College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), Dr. Derrick Deslandes; Chairman of Digicel Foundation, Joy Clark; and Board Chairman of Church Teachers’ College in Manchester, Rev. Father Franklin Jackson. Occasion was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday (Aug. 15), at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle location in Kingston for the establishment of smart labs at CASE and Church Teachers’ College.The Full Story
Student-teachers at Church Teachers’ College in Manchester and the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland are to benefit from the installation of smart labs.
The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information and Digicel Foundation, on Friday (Aug. 15), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the facilities under the Smart Lab programme.
Fully equipped labs have already been set up at three teachers’ colleges – St. Joseph’s and Mico University College in Kingston and Sam Sharpe in St. James, transforming these spaces into modern learning environments.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Kasan Troupe, expressed pleasure that the programme, which was first implemented in primary schools in 2022, has been expanded to the teacher training institutions.
“So, the pre-service preparation is extremely important because it means that the teachers are coming out already exposed to 21st Century devices and equipment and so, they are up to par with the students,” she said, while addressing the signing of the MoU at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle headquarters in Kingston.
“We cannot be afraid of using the technology… so we must teach our teachers to interact with it and to embrace it and this is what the Digital Foundation is doing today,” Dr. Troupe pointed out.
She extended gratitude to Digicel Foundation for its continued support to the education sector.
Each smart lab is being constructed at a cost of US$80,000, which covers the renovation and retrofitting of existing spaces.
They will be fitted with laptops, tablets, a smart board with Mimio learning software, two-year free Digicel internet access and teacher training software.
Establishing smart labs in the teacher training colleges is expected to help trainee teachers build confidence and competence in integrating technology into their lessons and allow educators to explore and become familiar with the MimioStudio software.
It will also provide an opportunity to populate the Mimio software with locally relevant content, contextualised to the Jamaican curriculum and culture, while promoting a sustainable model of digital education by embedding the practice of technology integration into teacher preparation, not just classroom delivery.
Chairman of Digicel Foundation, Joy Clark, pledged to continue working with the Education Ministry to change lives, noting that the entity is dedicated to “making Jamaica the best place for our children.”
She expressed gratitude to the colleges for working with the Foundation, adding that she is looking “forward to the success stories that will come from the schools”.
Construction will begin on August 19 at Church Teachers’ College. Renovation works are expected to be undertaken over eight weeks, with an additional four weeks to fully retrofit the smart labs with the necessary technology.