A total of 1,100 Chromebooks, valued at $27 million, are to be distributed to students across St Thomas courtesy of American multinational technology company Google.

The donation was secured by the St Thomas Renaissance Foundation for its Mathematics Honours College programme, an initiative aimed at helping to increase the passes in the CSEC Mathematics Examination in all the high schools in the parish, and Happy Grove High School in Portland.

The devices were handed over during a ceremony at St Thomas Technical High School on Friday attended by Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams.

Minister Williams welcomed the donation, noting that it aligns with the goal of the ministry to ensure that each student is equipped with a technology device to support learning.

Stating that “technology will remain an important part of the education system”, even after the novel coronavirus pandemic, Williams noted that the ‘One Laptop or Tablet Per Child’ initiative has made it possible for 200,000 devices to be provided to students across Jamaica.

Google Classroom learning management system is the platform utilised by the ministry to connect Jamaican students with their teachers in the virtual space, and was especially crucial over the last two years when lessons were conducted remotely due to COVID-19.

The Mathematics Honours College is a newly formed initiative of the St Thomas Renaissance Foundation. At its helm is master mathematics teacher Beverley Hyatt.

Under the initiative, mathematics lessons and training are provided to selected groups of students from each high school in the parish so that they, in turn, can mentor their peers.

The gift from Google is believed to be the single largest donation ever received by any non-profit in St Thomas. It was made possible by the efforts of Camille Stewart, global head of product security strategy at Google whose parents were mathematics and science teachers at St Thomas Technical High School, and Danielle Veira, founder and CEO of Minerva’s Legacy Consulting Group, which empowers leaders and organisations that want to change the world.