MONTEGO BAY, St James : Parents will soon be asked to pay for tablet computers....under the $1.4 billion Schools Tablet Computer Programme pilot. Minister of Science and Technology Phillip Paulwell said.

BY HORACE HINES Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, November 04, 2014  

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Parents will be required to absorb the cost of tablet computers after the 30,000 devices now being distributed free to 30 schools islandwide under the $1.4 billion Schools Tablet Computer Programme pilot, has ended.

Students at Salt Savannah Primary and Infant School
enjoying their tablets. From left are Fabian Banton,
 Yamuru Watson and Owen Bonswell.

"We recognise that this project is very costly and when you think about the pilot only being able to deal with approximately 30,000 tablets and we have about 600,000 students we have to find a way to enable the full roll-out of the project for the entire country and to minimise the cost," Minister of Science and Technology Phillip Paulwell said.

He, however, noted that Government will continue funding the cost of tablets for those students on the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), as well as for the E-books and supply of Internet for the programme.

"We will as a Government continue to fund the softer side of the business. So for example the books; all the E-books we will pay for those. We will also pay for free Internet access and it is broadband technology. But we are thinking that apart from those PATH students who cannot afford the tablet, and who we believe we need to assist, we will have to ask parents to contribute towards the acquisition of the tablets," Paulwell said.

He further noted: "I think there has to be some vested interest in the project."

The science and technology minister said that under the Schools Tablet Computer Programme, parents will no longer be required to purchase text books, which are downloaded on the tablets, resulting in significant savings. more