Ministry accepts tablets donation

Several primary school students from across the island will soon have an easier time accessing their educational material online, after Flow Barbados donated some 200 tablets to the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training on Thursday.

While accepting the donation on behalf of the ministry at their headquarters, Chief Education Officer, Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, said the new tablets will go towards assisting the Ministry’s G-Suite Tech Drive initiative, which was launched back in 2020 with the aim of ensuring that every student located on the island who did not previously have easy access to online learning portals, will be able to have that opportunity with the ministry’s assistance in the form of device donations.

“The drive was made successful, due to the various donations by entities within the public sector, corporate Barbados, organizations within the diaspora and private citizens, who deemed it as an opportunity to give back to the students of Barbados.

“Organisations such as Flow that donated 50 mobile wireless internet devices, with 10 GB data plans to support students without internet access, must be commended as they continue to assist students in their educational journey in the online environment. Today once again, they are assisting the Ministry of Education and the students of Barbados by providing 200 tablets which will be used by primary school students in Barbados,” she said.

Senior Manager for Communications South and Dutch Caribbean and Trinidad for Flow, Marilyn Sealy, said the company was pleased to be part of the national effort to ensure that all students had the tools necessary to continue their education online during the pandemic.

“Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been a proud ally in the national transition to online learning and we are pleased to continue this effort to ensure our students have access to the quality education they deserve, especially for those families who are most in need.

“Today, I am pleased to present 200 tablets which will directly benefit Barbadian primary school students who are facing challenges accessing their virtual classes, and at the request of the Prime Minister [Mia Mottley] at a previous meeting with our leadership team, these devices come with a rugged protective case.”

The donation of tablets was provided by the Cable and Wireless Charitable Foundation, which also operates in several islands in Latin America.

In addition to tablets, Flow is also reaching out to older Barbadians who have difficulty understanding the new online environment, with free classes being made available this week.

“This week in Barbados we are also offering free technology classes with employees volunteering with the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP), to teach the use of virtual communication tools such as ZOOM and Microsoft Teams, and we also organized a food drive for employees to donate food items and non-perishables to those affected by COVID-19.”

Students from St. Lucy Primary, Eagle Hall Primary, St. Margaret’s Primary, and Deacon’s Primary will benefit from the 200 newly donated tablets. (SB)