Gov't wants everyone to have Internet

The Jamaica government says it wants the entire population to have access to the Internet and has appealed to local providers to ensure that it is achieved.

"We need Internet access to all the nooks and crannies of Jamaica, to where the more than 1,100 public schools are by 2015, and we really have to challenge everyone involved in this regard," Education Minister Rev. Ronald Thwaites told the official launch of the Caribbean Virtual Academy (CEVA).

A virtual learning platform accessed through the website CaribbeanExams.com, CEVA is geared at providing online tutoring and exam preparation assistance to high school students.

The aim is to help students in Jamaica and across the region achieve greater success at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) levels.

Rev. Thwaites, who endorsed the programme, said it was in line with the government's mission of attaining greater student achievement.

He said that the expectation was that the programme would result in significant improvement in student achievement, and also provide employment opportunities for local teachers.

He said that the whole arena of virtual education was a powerful tool for transformation of the system and CEVA is a decisive step in that direction.

"At the Ministry, we regard CEVA as complementary, not competitive, to classroom-based teaching and learning, as it provides the opportunity for students to learn at their own pace, and not to hamper those who are capable of managing the curriculum at a quicker pace," he said.

Rev. Thwaites said he would be meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM), to access the progress of the e-learning programme and the roll out of the pilot.

Vice President, GoGSAT Limited, Shallette East said an estimated 291 teachers were attached to the programme, providing online tutoring and assistance in over 18 subject areas including Mathematics, English Language and Biology.

She said this was being done through the provision of educational games, thousands of practice questions, topic specific tests, study guides, topic specific notes, animated notes, pre-tests and post-tests in addition to access to test preparation material.

CaribbeanExams also provides students with access to live tutorials facilitated by live tutors, essay grading, e-mentoring, a 24/7 helpdesk as well as daily homework and research assistance.

- CMC