Republic of Korea makes largest single donation to education ministry’s laptop/tablet drive
Published:Saturday | November 11, 2023 | 12:06 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
The Korean government has donated 4,103 tablets, valued at US$600,000 (J$92,835,576.82) to Jamaica’s One Laptop or Tablet Per Child initiative, which was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020.
The gift, which represents the second-highest number from a single donor, was presented at an official handover ceremony on Tuesday at the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
Education Minister Fayval Williams welcomed the donation and commended the gesture from the Korean government, saying that the country’s objectives remain to have each child with at least one laptop or tablet, especially those students who are at a disadvantage and living in rural communities.
“And we’re continuing on this path. We’re ensuring that all of our students have access to devices. We have gone further than that to ensure that we have ‘oceans’ of e-resources available to the, educational resources that have been curated for them. They just need to access it,” Williams said.
She remarked that Korea is a nation worth modelling in terms of their educational offerings.
“I know that South Korea is one of the top-performing OECD countries in reading, in literacy, in mathematics and the science, and they are ranked in the top-10 globally.There are almost 200 countries in the world right now, and to be ranked in the top-10 is not easy feat. There are many lessons that I would like to learn from South Korea,” she said.
The tablets are to be distributed by the National Education Trust (NET), an agency of the Ministry of Education and Youth.
UNWAVERING COMMITMENT
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith also commended the embassy and government of Korea for their donation.
“Jamaica and Korea share a dynamic and enduring friendship. Just last month, I had the privilege of making my first official visit to South Korea, where I participated in the 13th High Level Forum on the Korea-Caribbean Partnership. In addition to government officials, I had excellent engagements with business and other leaders in Seoul and Busan, where I witnessed excellent displays of the strength, resilience and ingenuity of the Korean spirit,” Johnson Smith said.
“The High-Level Forum was an opportunity to discuss South Korea’s and Jamaica’s continued commitment to collaboration on areas such as climate action, sharing of Korean technology, capacity building in spatial management and disaster prevention and response, education, health, land registration and customs modernisation, among others. Over the past 40 years, Korea’s contributions to Jamaica are valued at over US$10 million,” she said.
Johnson Smith noted that in addition to traditional cooperation, Jamaica’s friendship with South Korea extends to particular needs and challenges, such as those brought on by the pandemic.
“To assist Jamaica’s response to that global crisis and to boost healthcare in general, South Korea has donated over US$2m-worth of medical supplies and technology since April 2020,” she said.
Jin-wook Kim, chargé d’affaires, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, shared that The Republic of Korea supports development in critical national areas, such as education and youth development, primarily because education played a major role in Korea’s successful developmental experience.
“That is why the government of the Republic of Korea supports this initiative wholeheartedly and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to our strong bilateral relationship with Jamaica,” he said.