46 Wards Of The State Receive Tablets To Support Learning

Forty-six wards of the State were recently presented with tablets to assist with their schooling. This was through a partnership between the Transformation Implementation Unit (TIU) and the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

The tablets were presented to children in State care who were successful in four or more Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency (CAPE) subjects for 2019/2020.

Thirty-eight recipients were successful in CSEC subjects and eight in CAPE. More than half of the CSEC students received passes in seven or more subjects, with the top performer passing 10 CSEC subjects.

Among the recipients of the tablets were students entering sixth form as well as students matriculating to various tertiary institutions, including the University of the West Indies, Caribbean Maritime University, and the University of Technology.

Executive Director of the TIU, Maria Thompson Walters, said that the provision of the tablets comes at a time when they are most needed, given the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for students to have access to online platforms for learning.

“The donation forms part of the ICT expansion project at the CPFSA, which includes upgrading the agency’s call center and automation of the process to refer child abuse, the provision of computers and tablets for field staff, consolidating IT platforms, establishing resource centers, the provision of additional psychological tools; and the installation of sensory equipment in five nurseries across the island,” said Ms. Thompson Walters.

For her part, Chief Executive Officer at the CPFSA, Rosalee Gage Gray, said that “the tablets provided are academic tools to facilitate the students’ education”.

 She further pointed out that the donation “signifies the Government’s commitment to supporting the students all the way, until the completion of tertiary studies, and successful transition into independent living”.