More than 100 schools across the island will benefit from a donation of some 3,000 desktop computers, courtesy of the Overseas Examinations Commission (OEC) under an initiative aimed at improving the information and communication technology (ICT) capacity of secondary schools.

Dubbed the Computers in Secondary Schools Project, the programme forms part of the OEC’s corporate social responsibility and is in keeping with the new thrust of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) to pursue online testing for secondary schools.

This investment in the schools is being done in partnership with the OEC’s parent ministry — the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information (MoESYI) — and with the approval of its board of commissioners, as the commission ramps up delivery of its mandate to oversee the administration of examinations locally and provide relevant support services.

The OEC has been investing in secondary schools across the island since 2017 to help them prepare for e-testing. Twenty-one schools are set to benefit under the current tranche of the programme.

Of note, Gaynstead High School, Immaculate Conception High School, and St Hugh’s High School for Girls recently received their computers, with Haile Selassie High School next in line to benefit.

“We are now in Tranche six of the programme, through which we are providing 630 computers — each of the 21 schools in this phase will receive 30 computers,” said OEC Director of Marketing and Client Relations Krystle Daley-Thompson.