Jamalco donates $5m worth computers to schools in Clarendon and Manchester

Forty computers valued at almost $5 million was handed over to four schools in Jamalco’s operating areas in Clarendon and Manchester last Thursday at a ceremony held at Bustamante High School.

Presented under the company’s Computers in Schools Programme, the equipment were donated to support students’ access to technology.

The computers, the company said, would provide a much-needed boost to students from Lennon, Bustamante, Mile Gully and Cross Keys high schools in strengthening their learning.

Member of Parliament for Clarendon South East Pearnel Charles Jr, in addressing the ceremony, praised the company for its gesture.

“For us to move this country that we truly love forward, we are going to do so in a cohesive manner. It requires partnership, it requires us to have a shared vision, a shared commitment; and I am very encouraged about this by the effort that I have seen not just today, but over the time,” Charles Jr said.

Charles Jr also praised the company for the kind of investment made in its operating areas, as he stressed that they “were calculated to make a difference”.

Pointing out that Jamalco’s donation demonstrates the “success that can come from public-private partnerships,” he said the donation will not only benefit the 40 students and the communities, but will shape the destiny of the students and help to close the gap that separates those who have access to technology from those who do not.

Austin Mooney, Jamalco’s managing director, stated that he is aware of the significant investment that the Government has made in providing information and communications technology by increasing Internet access in schools and procuring tablet computer for schools across the island, He also stressed that the Government cannot do it alone.

“That is why it’s so important for the private sector to get involved to drive more public-private partnership initiatives so that our education system can benefit from these communication technologies,” he said, adding that he is happy his company has been making strides in that regard.

“It’s no secret that the world is being run by computer technology, and COVID-19 has changed the way schools will operate. We want to give the students in our host communities an opportunity to become more adept in information technology and ready to compete on a global scale,” he told the gathering.

TACKLING CHALLENGES

Mooney, in acknowledging the challenges some teachers are having delivering lessons online, urged them to take charge, even if it means taking new computer courses or doing whatever it takes to learn more about the devices in order to relate to their students, based on the new norms that have been created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jamalco’s Computers in Schools Programme is one of many initiatives aimed at strengthening educational resources in their operating communities. The company has a long-standing history of providing educational resources for schools and underprivileged students from the early-childhood level to tertiary levels.