JTA president backs 2025 Internet plan

WESTERN BUREAU:

Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Jasford Gabriel has welcomed the Holness administration’s plan to have Internet connectivity in all homes by 2025 as a potential game-changer for educational advancement.

Schools were shuttered in March at the onset of the coronavirus here, forcing students and teachers on to a sharp learning curve in online classes. The Government resumed face-to-face interaction in 17 schools in a two-week pilot in November, with around two dozen joining that number in December.

Students, however, have registered learning losses from remote classes amid complaints of spotty Internet connectivity and a lack of computers and data.

The JTA is excited about the possibilities of Internet for all by 2025, said the teachers’ lobby president.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on education have resulted in the most rapid improvement in Internet capabilities and resources that we have seen in over 20 years in Jamaica,” Gabriel told The Gleaner in a recent interview.

“This is a necessary imperative to rapidly advance learning and remain relevant in the 21st century.”

The JTA president was responding to Technology Minister Daryl Vaz’s announcement in Parliament last Tuesday that the Government was pursuing universal Internet access as a “public good” in four years.

Vaz provided data showing that Jamaica’s fixed broadband penetration stood at 11.65 per cent and mobile service at 59.76 per cent, with urban centres disproportionately benefiting.

The minister said that the implementation of a National Broadband Network would cost approximately US$237 million.

Gabriel said that strong leadership and a multisectoral partnership were needed to usher the education sector and the wider Jamaica into the digital age.

“I believe we must reimagine education and seize the existing opportunities amidst the challenges we are facing,” said Gabriel.