TEN desktop computers are to be provided to the St Cyprian’s Preparatory School in Highgate, St Mary, before the start of the 2018/19 school term, which begins in September.

Education, Youth and Information Minister Senator Ruel Reid gave a commitment to provide nine of the computers, during a visit to the school on April 18. Trustee of the institution, Member of Parliament for Central St Mary Dr Morais Guy is expected to provide the other computer.

“We want more students to utilise technology, especially as we move into the Primary Exit Profile (PEP),” Reid told the students and teachers.

The PEP will replace the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) in 2019.

Senator Reid also underscored his commitment to ensuring that the needs of all students across the island are met, through the special needs policy of the ministry.

“We have to have an inclusive education system that caters to everyone,” he emphasised.

The minister’s comment was in relation to a letter sent to him by one of the students at the institution, Alicia Blake, who was one of seven students in the country to sit the GSAT in hospital.

Senator Reid said he took the time to visit the school following Alicia’s letter written on March 25.

In the letter, Alicia, who had been ill with pneumonia, expressed gratitude to the minister for enabling her to sit the GSAT examination.

In a JIS News interview, Alicia’s mother Maria Bennett-Blake said her daughter was quite comfortable while sitting the examination in hospital.

“She was not worried. She felt comfortable, and she felt special because a nurse was appointed to her,” she said.

Alicia received a tablet computer, which was presented to her by Minister Reid.