Laptop project must keep going

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,
I am so glad that that the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project is still ongoing, despite some budgetary cuts from the joint opposition. This project commenced in 2011 and I am quite sure it will take some time for complete distribution, but I really do not mind. The important thing is that the project was not aborted.
As a teacher, these laptops provide convenient access to technology, which allows so many to improve their technology skills. I was told that, in some countries, laptops were a positive factor in teachers’ decisions to remain in schools where they were teaching. Those schools had a number of them in a centre. As for students, laptops are used all the time for Internet hunts on various topics.
Many institutions will take some time to actually set up a computer room and, even so, the logistics of time-tabling will be quite cumbersome. So with one in each family, a lot of ease is being created.
That is why I am still puzzled that one of the budget cuts had to be in this area.
The plan is to distribute 28,000 laptops by August of this year. I love hearing some of the success stories from the laptop project too. For example, I am hearing of more time at home – less at the internet cafes, better performances at school, and increase in general knowledge.
The flip side has to be watched though, as like any other gadget, a laptop can be used for the wrong reason. I am hoping that parents and guardians will keep a close watch on how children are using them.
Now, I am still in the dark when it comes to the missing 150 laptops that were reportedly stolen from the OLPF’s warehouse in Queenstown, Georgetown. This matter should not be shelved at all. It is really a shame that a novel and uplifting government programme has to be tainted by a few unscrupulous persons. I call for a quick conclusion to this matter and I suggest for those who are guilty: at least pay back.
Yours truly,
Shoba Alimoon

Related posts