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Information Technology is not a luxury, neither is it an option. Rather, it is a necessity. This notion was yesterday emphasised by President David Granger when he launched the much anticipated ‘One Laptop Per Teacher’ (OLPT) initiative at the Cyril Potter College of Education Turkeyen’s campus.President David Granger (centre) in the company of Minister of Telecommunications, Ms Catherine Hughes (to his left),and Ambassador Zhang Limin (on Minister Hughes’ left),Houston Astros Josh Reddick Jersey, senior education officials and some of the recipients of laptops.The President asserted, “Any Government that wants an educated population must look at Information Technology as an obligation, not an option.”He underscored that teachers are at the heart of the education system and are vital to the dissemination of education to the nation’s children. “They nourish the minds of our children by inculcating values and attitudes,” the President noted.He added, “Teachers are the guardians of quality assurance in education.”The Head of State,Travis Shaw Jersey, who also graced the opening ceremony of 2016 Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance (CANQUATE) 13th Conference at the National Cultural Centre, Tuesday evening, made it clear that “education standards will decline unless we have a core of trained and qualified teachers who are capable of upholding quality assurance in education.”President Granger said that teachers must be prepared for the new demands of the ‘Information age’. He added that the future of education requires teachers to have greater knowledge of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and to be adept with technology of information.The idea for the OLPT initiative originated back in October 2011, according to President Granger, who recalled that during a visit to the Rupununi he gave a teacher a laptop. He said that he was on the elections campaign trail at the time.The teacher then utilised the laptop to prepare lesson plans and ended up improving her overall efficiency as an educator in the process. “A conscious decision has been taken to reshape the remaining phase of the One Laptop Per Family initiative into what we now have as the One Laptop Per Teacher initiative,” he said.President Granger contended that the launching of the OLPT initiative essentially asserts the importance of education to the nation. “It acknowledges the role of information and education and the value of our teachers in the delivery of that information to our students.“Teachers are essential to education and must lead the process…We don’t want the students to be ahead of the teachers; we don’t want the teachers to be left behind.”President Granger presents a laptop to a teacher in training yesterday.He is optimistic that teachers will become familiar with the technologies of information, the gathering of information, data storage and data retrieval. “Teachers must have greater access to ICT and its benefits. This is why we have the One Laptop Per Teacher initiative, an initiative that is the beginning of a process of ICT transformation throughout our education system – a system which embraces over a quarter million of Guyanese,” President Granger observed.“ICT education is no longer optional; it is obligatory, it is mandatory. Citizens of the 21st century must be trained in ICT, whatever their career. Every child, every teacher must be schooled in computer science and it must be mandatory at this college,” President Granger asserted yesterday.And Government, according to the President, is committed to expanding internet access to all Guyanese. This, he noted, will translate to internet connectivity going to every school, every government building in Guyana – airports, banks, hospitals, police stations,Edinson Volquez Jersey, post offices and universities. In fact the President observed that based on the crime bulletins “even the jail birds have access…”He continued,Atlanta Braves Kurt Suzuki Jersey, “Every Guyanese in due course should have access to the information super highway.”The launch of the OLTP initiative represents the start of a process of modernisation of ICT development in Guyana. According to President Granger,Alex Avila Jersey, “We have started with our educators. Teachers must be geared to fulfil their important roles of educating our children so that they can enjoy a good life in this great country.”Even as he commended the Ministries of Telecommunication and Education for collaborating in order to realise the launch of the initiative, the President also recognised the Government of the People’s Republic of China.Guyana and China has had 44 years of cordial relations and according to President Granger the China Government was forthcoming to request to reshape its support to the One Laptop Per Family initiative to accommodate teachers.The laptop distribution to teachers coincided with the observance of World Teachers’ Day which was observed the world over yesterday.Teachers in training at CPCE are eligible to receive laptops as part of the OLPT initiative. Some of them were able to receive their laptops yesterday. In excess of 1,Tony Sanchez Jersey,000 teachers are in training at CPCE which is based at Turkeyen but which has a number of satellite locations.But they were not the only recipients. Some top performers of the 2015 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) were also presented with laptops yesterday too. A total of 168 of the One hundred and sixty-eight of the top performers are eligible for laptops.The decision to focus the laptop distribution on the education sector was fully endorsed by the Government of China which is prepared to sustain its support for the Government of Guyana. This was emphasised by Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Zhang Limin, who graced yesterday’s forum.According to Minister of Telecommunication,Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Martin Maldonado Jersey, Catherine Hughes, launching of the OLPT initiative is one that seeks to give teachers an important tool with which to work and is therefore a vital component of Government’s all in-compassing to raise the national level of digital literacy and to improve internet connectivity. Internet connectivity was on show yesterday as teachers in training in Berbice were able to virtually join the launching ceremony by way of Skype.“Most importantly it is a means to introduce internet access to our un-served hinterland and interior locations,” said Minister Hughes as she added that “this all-encompassing programme will directly benefit all Guyanese including students,Aroldis Chapman Jersey, their teachers and parents, young professionals and entrepreneurs.”Minister Hughes also underscored that there is no doubt that higher levels of internet penetration have a positive impact on the national economy. “It has already proven to be a major contributor to higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in other developing countries,Jorge De La Rosa Jersey, and it has improved the standard of living of their citizens,” added the Telecommunications Minister.Although Minister of Education, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, was unable attend the forum yesterday, he was aptly represented by his Technical Advisor on Tertiary Education, Mr. Vincent Alexander.According to Alexander the introduction of the OLPT initiative yesterday is in fact a fitting way to bring down the curtain on the observation of Education Month.“What in fact we are doing is tuning teachers for an improved delivery of education while equipping our students to better received that education,” Alexander noted. |
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