Jagdeo launches – One Laptop Per Family programme

By Lisa Lowe

The One Laptop Per Family Programme was officially launched last Friday, January 21st, at the Guyana International Conference Centre, and is expected to provide opportunities for 90,000 families.

The programme was launche+d by President Bharrat Jagdeo, who said the project could enhance and create opportunities for the beneficiaries of the laptops.

However, he said: “The people that are collecting these laptops are not getting them free… you don’t have to pay for them, but it requires commitment in terms of time and effort and community work and promise to help others once you learn this. This is a national project. It is a project that helps you to help others.” The president said that it will take about two years to get the 90,000 laptops to families all across Guyana. According to President Jagdeo, Guyana has approximately 180,000 households, and many of those households already have computers; so the 90,000 computers will benefit 50 per cent of those households. The president feels that, regardless of the educational background and income level of families, all children would have comparable levels of performance if a computer is present in every home. As a result, the computer is intended to benefit poor families, so that their children will have the same opportunities as children from wealthy families. “This is why the first 90,000 computers will go to the least fortunate families across this country,” he said.

The president pointed out that his government made the decision to implement the “one laptop per family” project rather than a “one laptop per child” project, as some countries are doing, since this will foster greater connection between classrooms and homes, and get parents more involved in the education of their children.

The president also noted that the initial step of the project is to familiarize those who benefit with the laptops, since there are persons who do not know how to use a computer.

He noted that the computers will have tough security features, and can even be shut off completely via the Internet. He added that strict imprisonment penalties are being considered for anyone caught stealing any of the laptops. He also emphasised that there will also be penalties for anyone found selling the laptops.

Further, repair assistance will be offered if the laptops are damaged.

He further pointed out that government has to work aggressively with GT&T to ensure that persons with the laptops can access the Internet, and the project does not fail. “The only way we are going to keep our people here and develop lives is if we explore and develop new frontiers, and create wealth and opportunities,” the president said.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY

He added that, after the arrival of the new fibre-optic cable, all local call centres met with the government and expressed their desire to increase their businesses in Guyana because of the new reliability of the service.

He said that specifications of the programmes are still being worked out, but it was necessary for the project to be launched at this time, since the world is moving towards advanced technology.

The president noted that advanced technology is a fundamental right of the people, because of the impact it will have on their lives. He highlighted the massive development in ICT worldwide from the 1990s to now, and pointed out how this has transformed the country into being a more productive and significant generator of more ICT-related jobs. ICT will also be used to enhance the education, health and security sectors; and it will bridge the distance gap in Guyana.

He pointed out that the laptop programme is the first component of the ICT strategy, and he emphasised the many other components needed for the strategy to be a successful one.

The head of state noted that, for some time now, his administration has been trying to increase access to the Internet across Guyana, and he pointed out that the efforts have not been as successful as intended, since the administration had hoped to be more advanced in implementation efforts than currently obtains.

The president believes that one contributor to this is the telecommunications monopoly situation. He pointed out that major attempts have been made recently to correct this issue. These include GT&T`s investment in a new cable that significantly improves the connectivity capacity to the rest of the world. “Now that we have this capacity here in Guyana, that is going to significantly drop the cost of the bandwidth,” he said.

President Jagdeo further noted that a significant amount of money is being spent on a new fibre-optic cable from Brazil, which will almost double current capacity. “We are not only going to have redundancy in fibre-optic connectivity with the rest of the world, but we are also going to have a significant capacity on which we can build Internet access for all our citizens,” he noted.

He noted that the cables are important parts of the overall ICT strategy, and emphasised that, without them, it would have been more difficult to connect the people. Citizens from all parts of Guyana will now be able to have easier access to Internet services. The president stressed the importance of getting every aspect of the programme right.

He also pointed out that, by April, a 24-hour educational channel will be in service and available in almost every coastal home.

He stated that this project is just a stepping stone for the development that will take place after the programme is fully implemented in Guyana.

“This is just one part of the big picture; and what is very promising, to me, is that as I travel throughout Guyana, the excitement of this project is very plausible,” he said.

The Hinterland Scholarship programme and Voluntary Youth Corps were among five groups to receive the laptops.