THE government will be providing more than 20,000 computers to close to 200 primary schools within the next few months.

Minister of Education, Youth and Information Senator Ruel Reid, who made the announcement during his contribution to the 2018/19 State of the Nation Debate in the Senate last Friday, said Government’s investment in education is in line with Vision 2030.

Senator Reid said that the government agency, E-Learning Jamaica, will be delivering the computers to the schools as part of an 11-year roll-out project.

In addition, he said the Overseas Examinations Commission (OEC) is delivering on its commitment to enhance the information and communication technology (ICT) capabilities of selected secondary schools across the island, through an investment of $250 million.

“Over 6,000 computers and aided devices will be provided to schools at all levels and there is more to come through diaspora support,” Reid told the senate.

The minister said that this effort is aimed at reforming the early childhood sector into one that focuses on achieving optimal development for all children from birth to eight years.

“We are not just benchmarking ourselves against ourselves and our colleagues in the Caribbean. We are positioning Jamaica to be up there with the world because we have a vision for Jamaica to become a developed country by 2030,” the minister said.

“We are leaders in athletics, we have the best minds in the world, given opportunities; so why not have this big vision that we can work and make our education system so robust that our students can outperform the best of the best anywhere in the world,” Reid said.

He pointed out that with the Government’s recognition that socialisation starts in the home, it accepts that and any form of intervention is best directed from the very start.

As such, he said that, the early childhood sector is being reformed into one that is focused on achieving optimal development for all children, from birth to eight years of age.

He also noted that a record number more than 140 early childhood institutions have been registered and certified since the current administration took office in 2016, and that the Early Childhood Commission has been carrying out the inspections.

“The ECC has also been engaged in numerous partnerships with stakeholders from the public and private sectors to meet other initiatives, such as ‘ECC Pon Di Cawna’, ‘Read Across the Region’, a ‘Curfew Initiative’ and the establishment of libraries in schools,” Minister Reid said.

He added that the ministry also developed a strategy and partnership to focus on 126 day care centres across Jamaica, known as the Brain Builders Programme, which has so far yielded 32 Brain Builders Centres since the start of 2018.