NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (OCTOBER 26, 2022) — Principals of the seven government-owned primary schools on Nevis were presented with tablets on behalf of their students, a gift from the Windsong Foundation through the Tech Up project.
The 250 Lenovo Tab M10 Plus devices were presented to the principals by Hon. Troy Liburd, Jr. Minister of Education in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), on October 25, 2022, at the Premier’s Ministry conference room at Pinney’s Estate.
In handing over the tablets, Mr. Liburd encouraged the students benefiting from the gift to take care of them.
“I would want to urge all of the young people who are going to be benefiting from these tablets to treat them with care. They are gifts intended for them, to benefit them in their education and in their development as a whole and we want to encourage the parents also to speak with the children to ensure that when they have possession of the tablets that they treat them with the highest possible regard and that they care them,” he said.
The Education Minister noted that the tablets are the first part of the donation and that some laptops are expected shortly.
He thanked the Windsong Foundation for their long relationship with the NIA, and urged members of the corporate community to invest in young people.
“Windsong Foundation has come forward and they have been partnering with the Nevis Island Administration, partnering with the Ministry of Education, partnering with our schools and our young people here on Nevis and we have to say a very big, warm thank you to them…
“Windsong is a charitable organization but they are an externally charitable organization so…I do want to take the opportunity to encourage some of our corporate entities here in the federation to partner with the government, partner with Education, of course, to partner with the young people.
“The young people are the ones who are going to grow up to become the consumers of the future so I want to ask and encourage you to make an investment in them…It’s for the benefit of the young people and once the young people benefit, the country, as a whole, benefits,” he said.
Ms. Zahnela Claxton, Principal Education Officer, described the donation as a significant one.
“These devices are an important contribution towards our greater vision and mission and we know that we have adopted ‘Education for the Future’ as our key phrase for the Department of Education here and the way forward for education…An integral part of providing our students with some of the skills that they need for the future, of course, is technology…and we want our students to be engaged in technology…
“The intention of these devices is that they would be used for our students who may not have access to devices at home. They might not have the socio-economic background where they can be able to have their own devices for use. So these devices will be made available to them through a check-in and -out system,” she said.
The Principal Education Officer expressed hope that all children would have access to technology as they prepare for their future.
“It is our hope that every child will have the opportunity to prepare for the world of work and the general world that they would have to face and part of that is, of course, their access and involvement as it relates to technology.
“We know how much we have been stressing on ensuring that our students access our various platforms, as we reflect on the days not too long ago when we had to be online for our various classes and so there is no child who should be left behind. There is no child who should be disadvantaged because of their parents’ economic situation and so these devices are here through the Tech Up project, our thrust to ensure that our students have equal access,” she said.
Mr. Kevin Barrett, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, chaired the handing over ceremony.
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