Education Ministry clarifies issuance of OLPT

Since the introduction of the One Laptop Per Teacher (OLPT) Initiative, there has been much debate in relation to who is eligible. The Ministry of Education sought to provide some clarity on the issue.

In a statement the Ministry said Teachers with a minimum of 2 ½ to 3 years of service remaining before retirement are eligible to receive laptops, Trained Teachers (Assistant Master/Mistress), Senior Assistant Master/Mistress, Heads of Departments, Deputy Head Masters/Mistresses, Head Masters/Mistresses, Untrained Graduates, Specialty Teachers and every Teachers in Regions 1, 7, 8, and 9 and Education Officials.

The Ministry said 150 laptops were distributed in Region One, 650 in Region Two, 600 in Region Five, 1200 in Region Six, 300 in Region Seven, 250 in Region Eight, 470 in Region Nine and 1600 in Georgetown, while 147 was distributed at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).

As the distribution continues some 300 laptops will be delivered to teachers in Region 1; 1000 in Region 3; 1300 in Region 4; and 500 in Region 10 in the following weeks.

Each system is preloaded with Circulars, Curriculum Guides, Phonics Packages and the like.

The Ministry also said it has successfully trained 5,500 teachers in Basic Computer Literacy and 50 schools are running SuccessMaker successfully. Additionally, 180 Secondary School teachers competent to deliver CSEC syllabi – number of students writing subjects have tripled in 2 years, and 150 Primary schools have been trained in the use of low-cost technology.