WITH the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) almost a month away, students in the western parishes, whose schools were adversely affected by Hurricane Melissa last October, are set to benefit from the donation of digital literacy materials to support their preparations.

The donation, which has been made through the LearningHub Group, is facilitated via a partnership between the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and the National Education Trust (NET).

LearningHub Group CEO Shalette Ashman told the Jamaica Observer that the $250,000 initiative includes the donation of printed books which comprise a digital feature that allows students to watch videos and answer questions.

“The physical books are enhanced with augmented reality technology. Some of the books will have an app that can be downloaded from [the Google] Play Store. Once you place the app over a page in the book, then the book will come alive,” she explained after the handover ceremony on Tuesday at the PSOJ headquarters in St Andrew.

Ashman added that along with the donation of the physical books, students will receive access to the group’s digital access platform library with more than 3,000 curriculum-aligned interactive digital books — a separate $4-million initiative funded by the PSOJ.

“We partnered with the PSOJ to give every single school in western Jamaica access to our digital library, which is similar to a regular library where a number of books are available in digital format,” she said, adding that the digital library is available on the group’s website and will be accessed through key cards distributed by the education ministry.

Executive director of the PSOJ, Sacha Vaccianna Riley shared that the investment goes beyond merely just supporting schools but builds the future capacity of Jamaica’s economy.

“At the PSOJ we deeply believe that education is indeed the foundation of national development. The quality of our human capital ultimately determines the productivity of our workforce, the competitiveness of our businesses, and the prosperity of our country. So we might be a business support organisation but we see the connection that needs to be made from education at a very early level — because you young, bright students here are going to be tomorrow’s workforce, and we’re excited about that. Not only those in Kingston, not only those in the middle of the country, [but] those in the west — especially those who have been affected by natural disasters, which is becoming a part of our norm,” she told guests, including students.

“Today’s initiative reflects the kind of partnership that Jamaica needs more of — collaboration between the private sector, like ourselves; the education system or principals; school students; and innovators in learning resources like Dr Ashman — to ensure that every single child has the tools he or she needs to succeed,” Vaccianna Riley added.

Parliamentary secretary in the education ministry Senator Marlon Morgan welcomed the donation and highlighted that “literacy is the building block, the very foundation of education” and as such, a high focus is placed on reading by the ministry.

“With the LearningHub Group making available resources at no cost to our students in pursuant to this initiative, it goes a far way in serving a most critical segment of our population — our children — and it comes at a very timely juncture because, as you can appreciate, with the passage of Hurricane Melissa a number of your schools, a number of your classmates are suffering at this time in relation to the ravages of Hurricane Melissa that wreaked so much havoc on us last October,” Morgan told the students.

“I want you to embrace the learning platform with both hands. Encourage your classmates, all your peers, to do likewise as well because, as I said earlier, reading maketh a man, and a consequential and important foundation and building block in education is literacy. So, go on and conquer the world, go on and be your best selves, because at the end of the day Jamaica’s future lies in your hands and we want you to be as prepared, astute, and literate and humorous boys and girls as you can be as you ultimately go on to make your mark in Jamaica, land we love,” he said.

Dr Shalette Ashman, CEO at The LearningHub Group, demonstrating the digital features of the printed books her organisation, in collaboration with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and the National Education Trust, donated on Tuesday to students to help them prepare for the Primary Exit Proifile.

Senator Marlon Morgan, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, speaking at the handover of books to students sitting this year’s Primary Exit Profile, on Tuesday at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica in St Andrew.