Ezra, Clothesha, first to receive Acer laptops

Tue, Jul 01, 2014

Ezra Adams and Clothesha Alexander, first form students of the West St George Secondary School (WSSS) were the first two recipients of Acer Laptops under the “One Laptop per Student” project.{{more}}

This initiative, spearheaded by the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines, commenced on Tuesday, June 24 at the WSSS, where a total of 317 Acer laptops were distributed by officials from the Ministry of Education.

Speaking at Tuesday’s handing over ceremony, area representative Cecil McKie thanked the Ministry for selecting the West St George Secondary School as the first school under the distribution programme, noting that it couldn’t have come at a better time, since the school was celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Minister Mckie said: “The principal, staff and students of the school were now in the spotlight, as they have to show the other schools that they will take care of the laptops, and use them as tools for effective learning.”

Meanwhile, Minister with responsibility for Information and Communication Technology Camillo Gonsalves spoke of the genesis of the “One Laptop per Student” project as the brain child of Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves.

He said: “The Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines and UK’s largest publishing company, Dennis Publishing, signed a deal to provide over 12,500 laptops to supply to secondary schools under the “One Laptop Per Student” project.

Minister Gonsalves urged the students to take care of the laptops, which arrived in the state early June. He said that the cases to fit these laptops had just arrived at the Customs and they will be cleared shortly.

The Ministry of Education has advised parents/guardians of students under the age of 18 to bring along their identification cards to sign the contract forms on behalf of their children/wards. Parents who are unable to attend are asked to send a Letter of Authorization to the school, giving permission to another person to collect on their behalf.

The distribution programme continued this week and should come to an end on July 4. (API)