Cabinet clears Gy$223M to set up computer labs in schools

Government is to furnish 70 of Guyana’s secondary schools with computer laboratories as part of its national Information Communication Technology (ICT) strategy.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, revealed on July 11 that Cabinet granted its no- objection for a Gy$222.9 million contract for the procurement of computers, other equipment and accessories for 70 of the more than 100 secondary schools countrywide on July 8.

According to him, these should be ready for the beginning of the 2011/12 academic year, which starts in September. He added that the contract includes the purchase of more than 1,400 computers, 64 servers, 64 overhead projectors, and 600 uninterrupted power supply (UPS) units, among other accessories.

“This element — the provision of computer laboratories in all secondary schools — is an element of the national ICT strategy, and it is being implemented simultaneously with other elements, most of which depend ultimately for (their) maximum benefits on the availability of bandwidth, Internet connectivity, and the flagship activity – the OLPF (One Laptop Per Family),” Dr Luncheon pointed out.

He believes that the ICT strategy in education through the computerisation of the labs will have a tremendous impact on the students and their access to technology.

“The feeling has been cultivated that students at the CSEC doing IT – the numbers – would actually triple over the next few years as a result of the computerisation of all the secondary schools,” Dr Luncheon told the media.

However, he stated that while this perception is an “external” one, government has been providing support from the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and from Microsoft.

COL is an inter-governmental organisation created by Commonwealth heads of government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning/distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. It helps developing nations improve access to quality education and training.

“Allied with the computerisation of labs has also been the ICT training being provided to teachers at NCERD,” the Cabinet secretary disclosed. ” Cabinet has been advised that the quality of training is planned to improve from basic training to a more elevated level of training; and, more importantly, for the training now to become decentralised not only at NCERD, but also on the first phase to Region Six.” Guyana’s ICT strategy intends to facilitate and ensure the dramatic increase of the country’s social and economic wealth at all levels.

The strategy is geared to leverage and enhance Guyana’s human resources, educational resources, infrastructure, and information technology to accelerate economic and social development. It is also designed to play a critical role in achieving national development goals and in facilitating and promoting prosperity and well- being.

One other component of the ICT strategy, the OLPF project, has already been initiated, and is geared at benefiting some 90,000 families upon completion in the next several years.

The laying of the fibre-optic cable from Brazil has also begun, and would increase the bandwidth in Guyana.