The over 1,400 students of Old Harbour Primary School in St Catherine will now be equipped with digital skills to improve numeracy and literacy. This follows the renovation of a classroom to facilitate a state-of-the-art Smart Room, thanks to the Digicel Foundation.

Speaking at the official handover ceremony on Thursday, Principal of Old Harbour Primary, George Goode, said “Our team has been reviewing our data over the years and we recognise that our students’ performances were falling behind in some national targets, especially in Mathematics.”

Noting the need for more modern teaching and learning experiences in schools to better engage students, Goode added, “We recognise that these students are in a technological age and the way we teach in the past doesn’t coincide or align with what their interests are. We want to technologise our school by bringing to the students that are of their interests it would captivate them more to want to learn.”

He also expressed confidence that the new Smart Room will not only strengthen numeracy and literacy but also prepare students for emerging jobs in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

Regional Director, Ministry of Education, Region 6, Sophia Forbes Hall expressed gratitude to Digicel Foundation for their commitment to national development through education. She said, “Education is the hallmark of Digicel Foundation’s operation. I want to thank Digicel Foundation for their longstanding commitment, not just to region six, but by extension, the Ministry of Education and Youth.”

Also thanking the Digicel Foundation for their generous investment was Custos Rotulorum of St. Catherine and Old Harbour Primary Alumna, Icylin Golding. She expressed that the Smart Room was of ‘significant importance’ to the school and the community.

Under its STEAM initiative, aimed at bridging the digital divide, Digicel Foundation is missioned to create 10 Smart Rooms in primary schools across rural Jamaica by 2024. Old Harbour Primary is the third completed thus far.

The total investment for Old Harbour’s Smart Room is approximately $10 million.