ST JAMES, Jamaica — Regional Director for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s region four, Dr Michelle Pinnock, has lauded the Government for leading the technology acquisition drive in educational institutions through the Tablets in Schools programme.

She noted that more students, particularly those benefiting under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) are gaining access to devices to not only support online learning but also prepare them for the fourth and fifth industrial revolution.

“Being an advocate of technology, I appreciate and embrace this environment because it has propelled us in preparing our students for… the future,” Dr Pinnock said at a recent tablet handover ceremony held at the Lucea Primary School in Hanover.

The ministry, through e-Learning Jamaica (e-LJam) is distributing 40,000 tablets to grades four to six students across the island, who are beneficiaries under PATH.

Dr Pinnock noted that students in the education region, which comprises St James, Hanover and Westmoreland, will continue to receive tablets.

She said that private stakeholders are also playing their part in securing devices for the nation’s children.

“Through our national parent-teacher association, our churches, charity organisations and foundations and private sector, some of our students have received and continue to receive devices required to effectively engage in the teaching-learning process from a distance,” she said.

 “So, as a region, we are truly grateful to the many persons who have responded to the call to partner with the ministry to ensure that all students own a technological device and thus will be facilitated virtually,” she added.