NEW YORK, USA — Students and teachers at the Belfield Primary School near Highgate in central St Mary are to benefit from tablets and laptops as a result of a project which has been launched here to ensure that they keep pace during this period of online learning dictated by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

A project dubbed, ‘Belfield Primary Will Not Be Left Behind’ has been initiated by former principal of the school Milton G Hanchard.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Hanchard said that the initial intent is to provide the entire grade 4 of the school — about 22 students — with tablets and seven teachers with laptops.

According to Hanchard the decision to assist the school was influenced by the challenges affecting the education system as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

He was also influenced by the fact that its current principal, Michael Calvert, is one of his former students. According to Hanchard, Calvert “is doing an excellent job in maintaining the high standard of achievement for which the school is known”.

Hanchard also listed attorney-at-law Hugh Wildman as one of his former students.

The former principal told the Observer that he hopes to have half of the initial batch of tablets and laptops delivered to the school by the third week of January and the remainder by the end of February.

Support for the project is also being sought from past students of the school, many of whom Hanchard said are currently living in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Hanchard said he has already made contact with some former students of the school and he is also in discussions with the Mico College Old Students Association USA, of which he is a member, and the Union of Jamaica Alumni Association, the umbrella organisation of alumni bodies in America in a bid to secure their support for the project.

According to Hanchard, the support of the past students of the school for the project is critical even if they are providing other assistance to the institution.

An account (0024001662258) has been set up at JMMB Bank to facilitate people in Jamaica who want to contribute to the project, while those in the USA and the UK should use Zelle with the information M.Hanchard12@yahoo.com /718-877-0559 Chase Bank, USA.