Education Ministry outlines digital transformation plan

THE Ministry of Education has outlined its digital transformation plan for the period 2022-2027.

In a press release on Friday, it said the Cabinet-approved programme "builds on the ministry's ICT (Information and communications technology) in education policy of 2018.

It consists of 13 digital projects: E-testing, an e-book Platform, a literacy and numeracy adaptive learning platform, a student management system, open educational resources, a national online open and innovative school, student digital literacy, human resource support, a school issue management system, a school learning management system, quick-response identification cards for students, device provision for staff and students, scholarship/bursaries and a management platform.

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said the ministry must provide quality, equitable and modern educational opportunities to "all learners.

"...And the suite of digital transformation projects, when applied in a systematic and responsive manner, has the potential to do just that."

The press release said these plans will allow the ministry to "make strategic decisions that impact the education sector with present and future technological advances in mind, while providing cost savings and improvements in service delivery."

It said benefits of some of the projects can be seen as over 63,000 laptops and other technological devices have been distributed to students and teachers.

"Further to this, each of the 134 secondary schools in TT, as of August 2022, has been outfitted with Wi-Fi in their office spaces, libraries and common areas, and this exercise has also been completed in some primary schools."

It said the e-testing project will be piloted for the January 2023 CXC examinations.

"The benefits of this programme are far-reaching, and will positively impact areas such as records management, management of school infrastructure, curriculum delivery, teacher development and the conduct of examinations.

"Ultimately, the goal is the efficient development of globally competitive citizens, as students are provided with a learner centred and digitally agile education system."