The Ministry of Energy, Science, and Technology is working to strengthen the security of the Tablets in Schools programme before the next phase is rolled out.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Dr. Andrew Wheatley, said the measures include enhancing the capability to track the devices in the event that they are lost or stolen. There will also be improvements in relation to internet safety in order to prevent access to inappropriate content online.

“We are going to ensure that in very short order, that we roll out the next phase and …that the new set of tablets that we will be putting in the hands of our children…are so configured that we prevent students from accessing inappropriate material,” he said.

Dr. Wheatley was speaking to JIS News following Jamalco’s tablets in schools presentation ceremony at the Wembley Centre of Excellence in Hayes, Clarendon on March 23.

The Minister further disclosed that the new board members of e-Learning Jamaica, which is the implementing agency for the Tablets in Schools project, will be announced next week.

He informed that the board will be given certain instructions as it relates to the priorities and the direction the programme should take.

“I am sure that this next phase would have improved on what was learnt from the initial pilot phase,” he said.

A review of the $1.4 billion Tablets in Schools programme, which commenced at the start of the 2014/15 academic year, is currently being undertaken and the results will inform the way forward.

The pilot programme targeted the distribution of 25,000 tablet computers to teachers and students in 38 educational institutions island wide, including early childhood, primary, and secondary schools.

In the meantime, Dr. Wheatley commended Jamalco for donating 100 tablets to 14 schools in its operating communities in Clarendon and Manchester.

The Minister said the initiative “speaks volumes about your commitment to the growth and development of our nation…this is a reflection of true corporate citizenship and what it means to demonstrate care for the community.”

He further praised Jamalco for its provision of bursaries, scholarships and book grants valued at $10 million to more than 250 primary, secondary, and tertiary-level students, during the current school year.

State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, in his remarks, said Jamalco’s tablets in schools initiative is a “living example of proper public/private partnership, which truly is necessary if we are going to build the sort of education system that we all want to see in Jamaica.”

“The Government can’t do it alone, and as such, I am very happy that a great public-spirited company like Jamalco is matching talk with action.”

The donation of tablets was made possible through a $5.5 million grant given to Jamalco by the Alcoa Foundation on Alcoa’s exit from Jamaica in 2014.