KINGSTON, Jamaica — A total of $62 million has so far been committed to the One Laptop or Tablet Per Child’ initiative being spearheaded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information.

The initiative, which is designed to promote inclusivity in the education sector, was launched last Thursday. It aims to provide needy students with the requisite tools to function in the online teaching and learning environment. This includes ensuring equity in access to information and communications technology (ICT)-based learning, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry informed that the Jamaica Teachers’ Association has committed $1 million to the initiative in addition to $50 million from the National Commercial Bank (NCB) Foundation. The remaining $10 million is being donated through the JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation.

Currently, the Government is providing an estimated 148,000 students on the Programme of Advancement Through Heath and Education (PATH) with devices.

However, an additional estimated 100,000 students still require laptops or tablets to effectively participate in electronic learning. These students are not on PATH but are considered needy and vulnerable, said the ministry.

The profiles of the targeted beneficiaries are as follows: 600 Special Needs Students, 94,900 students (not on PATH), and 4,500 students in State care/homes. The estimated cost to provide laptops and tablets is $4.5 billion.

In her address at the virtual launch, Portfolio Minister, Fayval Williams, said it is important to eliminate the digital divide in Jamaica.

“Eliminating that divide begins by the Government and the private sector coming together as we are doing here today to put a laptop or a tablet in the hands of every Jamaican child, especially those families near or below the poverty level, whether they are in rural Jamaica or in our urban centres,” the minister said.

“Obviously, we know it is not just the tablets or laptops, it is the connectivity, and it’s the affordability. It is the educational content that teachers direct to students [and] it is the technical support that the students will have if there is a problem with the device or the software,” she added.

Williams further said that at the end of this effort, “what we will want to see is improvement in the educational outcomes”.

“We want to see better test scores, we want higher levels of certification of our members in our workforce, we want to see more of our students better prepared as they leave primary schools to enter secondary schools and we want to see more of our students matriculate to tertiary institutions,” she added.

Williams said by participating in the initiative, it is an investment in the future of Jamaica.