Approximately 1- thousand first year students of the SVGCC and 15 hundred fifth form students of Secondary Schools are expected to receive Asus Laptops Chrome Books, compliments the Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan.
The handing over of the devices took place at a ceremony at Cabinet Room.
Minister of Finance Hon. Camillo Gonsalves said government remains committed to providing quality education, modern devices to enhance students’ learning and proper Information Technology (IT) support for both students and teachers.
“They are more than laptops, they are tablets, they’re designed to be sturdy, rugged, durable, light – 2 and half pounds… 100 gigabytes of storage and very long battery life, …, ability to connect to the internet…2 camera and integrates very well with the google classroom” the minister remarked.
The Minister added, in collaboration with the NTRC, additional routers will be provided at learning institutions to manage the increase capacity for internet use.
Minister Gonsalves also expressed gratitude to the Republic of China on Taiwan for their contribution in other areas such through 10.8 million dollars for civic development programmes, 2.8 million dollars for the Youth Empowerment Service (YES) and 2.5 million dollars for Support for Education and Training (SET) programme.
Also addressing the forum was Minister of Education Hon. Curtis King, who reiterated government’s commitment to the teaching/learning process and the professional development of principals, teachers and other educators.
Minister King added some of the devices would be used in the development of Education Management and Information system.
“We are at that stage (where) we need to take the education revolution higher, now it is about aligning our education system to meet the developmental needs of our country and this activity is also part of this process,” Minister King explained.
Taiwanese Ambassador to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, His Excellency, Peter Sha-Li Lan said Taiwan remains committed to St Vincent and the Grenadines and its development.
Ambassador Lan noted that the civic development funding is testimony to this commitment.
“We are happy to continue that joint effort, …this is a sharing experience between the people and the Government of Taiwan St. Vincent and the Grenadines, let’s continue those 42 years of strong friendship”, the Ambassador remarked.
The handing over of laptops represents the 4th set of IT learning devices provided by the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to students over the past two decades.