BitDepth#1382

MARK LYNDERSAY

THERE WAS a lot of good news announced by the Ministry of Education (MoE) at the launch of its digitalisation programme on March 21.

The numbers were robust. The ministry announced that 600 schools have access to e-books in math, English and Spanish, created by its Curriculum Planning Division.

Seventy primary and secondary schools selected for a digitalisation pilot have been equipped with full e-classrooms enabling blended learning techniques.

Pending appraisal of the quality of these new teaching tools, the provision of such an expansive resource available to the student body of TT is a major advance.

E-books are expensive resources in First World environments, and at the tertiary level aren't even sold, only rented for timed use running to semesters or a school year.

The Education Ministry did not announce strategies to accommodate the expectations of schoolbook authors who have developed textbooks currently used in the education system and who will expect licensing arrangements for their work to be included in online digital libraries.

Device distribution has placed 63,000 tablets in student hands and digital access via WiFi has been implemented at 150 secondary and 74 primary schools.

These developments, according to Minister of Digital Transformation Hassel Bacchus, act as a force multiplier for the education system.

"By bundling a diverse suite of critical technology and interventions on the one program as is done here, the MoE is now well positioned both strategically and operationally to realise the efficiencies and value that come through economies of scale and the alignment of technical administration,' Bacchus said.

The Digital Transformation Minister also noted that of the 68 primary schools in areas underserved by digital connections, 49 have been connected by the TT WiFi project, which is financed through TATT's Universal Service Fund.

Digital literacy is being addressed through a partnership between the MoDT and YTEPP that's been under way since the middle of 2022, engaging 1,200 participants from all over the country.

In that first cohort, 170 participants did not have devices or internet access and were coached at ICT centres.

Teachers will celebrate the human resource projects that have been announced by the MoE. The Government's chronically underutilised Integrated Human Resource Information System (IHRIS) has been fully integrated and activated for teacher dashboards.

Since January, more than 10,000 MoE employees have generated 1,600 leave applications online, along with 24,000 requests for job letters and 13,000 users have accessed 160,000 payslips. Downloadable TD4 slips will be added to the service soon.

Teachers previously had to call, send e-mails or visit the MoE's education towers to access these services.

Digital reporting of school infrastructure and student performance will be continuously evaluated u