KINGSTON, Jamaica— Opposition spokesperson on Technology, Julian Robinson today renewed his call for the Government to engage in mediation with tablet device provider GeoTechVision.

The Government had previously said the tablets did not meet its specifications.

According to Robinson, his call comes against the background that “the very same tablets are being sold commercially on the local market and are currently being used by many public schools.”

“It is absolutely ridiculous that the Government has refused to engage in mediation and has allowed 19,000 tablets to sit idly in a warehouse while thousands of students cannot access online education because they have no devices,” he said in a statement.  

The spokesman also said the Government’s effort in removing the GCT from these devices would make them more affordable to parents and recommended that this be pursued as a policy option to ease the burden and lessen the frustration many parents are experiencing especially those with multiple school-aged children.

Robinson urged Prime Minister Andrew Holness to intervene in “this dispute to alleviate the crisis in our educational sector, where over 400,000 students have no access to education.”