PM Hands Over 40 Tablets For East Kingston And Port Royal Students

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has handed over 40 tablet computers to support virtual learning for students in East Kingston and Port Royal.

He presented the devices to Member of Parliament for the constituency, Phillip Paulwell, while visiting the vaccination site at the Windward Road Primary and Junior High School in East Kingston on Wednesday (Sept. 15).

Some of the tablets will be presented to students of the institution. During his visit, Mr. Holness also donated a multifunctional printer to the school.

The Prime Minister informed that the tablets were secured through the efforts of Consul General of New York, Alsion Roach Wilson, while the printer was gifted through his Positive Jamaica Foundation. 

Mr. Holness noted that the presentation of the tablets is in support of the Government’s efforts to equip students with devices to access online learning.

“What we have here are 40 devices to assist students to connect virtually to the classroom. These devices were a donation from several companies and individuals overseas through the effort of our Consul General and her team and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information as well,” he said.

He said that the donation of the printer is to enable the school to meet the increased need for printing materials to support learning.

Mr. Holness noted that the Government has been employing several initiatives to assist students to connect to virtual classrooms.

“The Government of Jamaica estimated that we would need to supply over 250,000 students with devices to enable them to connect online. There are several modalities through which this is being done. We would have assisted through the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), Own Your Own Device, and the One Laptop or Tablet Per Child initiative,” he noted.

Mr. Paulwell, in his remarks, expressed gratitude for the donation to the students. 

“These tablets for the students will enable us to go further than we have done. I just want to thank you. In this day and age of online classes, it is a tremendous contribution,” he said, 

Principal of Windward Road Primary and Junior High School, Noel Pennant, said that the devices, including the multifunctional printer, will greatly assist the students and teachers.