20,000-plus devices donated to Education Ministry, 650 delivered

The Ministry of Education has received 20,168 laptops and tablets to date from 45 corporate sponsors for its Adopt-a-School initiative.

Minister of Education Nyan Gadsby-Dolly told Newsday on Friday that of these, approximately 650 have been delivered.

But in a survey taken in October, 65,000 students indicated they still needed devices.

“More are arriving every week as suppliers get their shipments in,” Dr Gadsby-Dolly said, adding that the ministry has given out approximately 6,000 devices since March, but only to teachers and children with special needs. She said these were from devices used to stock school computer labs.

Schoolchildren need these electronic devices bcause schools are closed until at least the end of the year and teaching is being done online.

Owing to the number of devices being supplied, the number still needed may have been reduced, Gadsby-Dolly said, adding the ministry is devising a means test to determine how many more devices the government needs to procure.

Gadsby-Dolly also addressed Justice Devindra Rampersad’s criticism of the ministry for not reviewing a ten-year-old agreement with the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) on access to exam scripts.

On October 20, the ministry came under fire from the judge for failing to review the agreement, although TT courts have pronounced on the issue on more than one occasion in the past.

The judge was asked to declare on a matter involving the mother of a Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam student who requested a copy of her child’s exam script and was denied by the ministry.

Gadsby-Dolly said the ministry intends to review the agreement.

“Yes, this judgment and its implications would have to be considered in the application of this policy moving forward,” she said.

She previously stated that while the issues in this case were similar to the current matter before the CXC concerning Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) students who claim they were unfairly graded, they were not quite the same.

“CXC is a regional exam, SEA is local. However, the judgment would have implications on both exams, yes,” she said. “The extent of it will be determined by legal officers.”