Lovell Francis: Education to be digitally transformed

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis has called for the nation to invest in the youth, or rather the education of the youth, instead of oil, to maintain a sustainable future.

Francis made the call while speaking at an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and government leadership summit held by Huawei at the Hyatt Regency.

He also claimed the ministry was digitising the way it is run and this would transform education.

“We have been digitising all our files, using the State’s Iris system. We created an education management system which is in testing and will be rolled out later this year. We are doing a curriculum management system which will be out by January. We are about to literally transform how education is organised and functions.”

Francis said developing an infrastructure in the Education Ministry which is in alignment with the technological innovations happening all over the world today would give TT’s students a chance to learn at the same level as more developed countries, through the use of information technology.

“In other words, we will give them the chance to have the best kind of education that they could possibly access anywhere, right here,” Francis said, adding that the country had been for far too long wedded to an oil and gas economy, even though those resources at some point would either run out or be replaced.

“We can’t hedge our bets on that kind of thing. I would suggest that we hedge our bets on whatever our brilliant, innovative, thoughtful, creative, young people can develop and have the kind of diversified and strong economy we have been dreaming about.”

Francis said the key to developing such an infrastructure is ICT technology. He lauded Huawei and TSTT for their assistance in helping the ministry with digital programmes that would bring the ministry up to date with the already changing technological and educational landscape.

He said they started with a simple app that would allow teachers to apply for a job letter and get it within a day’s time or have it sent to the institution with which the teacher was dealing, like a bank or an embassy. As that was so well done, the ministry began developing a suite of digital changes.

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