50 students receive tablets from St Catherine JP Association

The devices were presented to children, who predominantly live and attend schools in rural St Catherine, at a ceremony held at The Ecclesia Family Ministry (Lions Club Civic Centre), Old Harbour, today.

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Custos of St Catherine Icylin Golding urged the recipients to use the electronic devices wisely and to see this as an opportunity to take charge of their education.

“I encourage you to embrace the possibilities that they offer. Your future is bright and with the right mindset and effort there is no limit to what you can achieve,” said Golding.

President of the St Catherine Justice of the Peace Association, Christobal Wright Snr, says the tablets were made available in partnership with Smart Mobile Solutions, an information technology (IT) solutions provider with more than a decade of experience offering a wide range of industry services such as hardware, financing, repairs and software development.

Under this particular initiative special emphasis was placed on institutions based in some of the most remote locations in the parish, which oftentimes are overlooked, said Wright.

“We are not saying they are less valuable than anyone,” he said. “They are a part of society and so I know that as I glanced across the floor it’s a possibility that we may have great athletes coming up, pilots, persons who may join the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force), JDF (Jamaica Defense Force); the possibility of a prime minister for this country.”

The donation will go a far way in bridging the information and communication divide between rural and urban Jamaica which remains an ongoing challenge for policymakers. This challenge is largely due to infrastructure limitations and geographic barriers. While urban areas have better connectivity, rural regions often rely on a mix of mobile data and limited broadband services.
The government and various organizations have made efforts to expand access through initiatives like community Wi-Fi projects and partnerships with telecommunications companies. However, issues such as affordability and the reliability of service still persist, making it difficult for residents to fully benefit from online resources.

Improvements are ongoing, but many rural areas still face hurdles in achieving consistent and high-speed internet access.

As for the beneficiaries today, at least they have a device allowing them access at their convenience, a very important step towards closing the education gap nationally.

In giving the charge to the students and teachers who accompanied them, retired educator and Justice of the Peace Lorna Ellis, said notwithstanding the ease of which information is sourced over the internet these days, it is important that a culture of “critical thinking” is encouraged and maintained among our young people.

“Everybody now become expert at knowledge,” she said, “and that is why you need critical thinking skills to make sure you are not fooled and to make sure that you don’t bring false information.”

In a very interactive presentation with the students, Ellis added: “AI (artificial intelligence) is artificial as it says. It’s man-made. Your intelligence is God-given. No phone beat that. Not a thing. So use your intelligence but you can use AI to enhance it better, to inform you.”

Expressing gratitude on behalf of the students, Lilleth Murphy, said the devices will spark creativity and interests in the students as they explore the worldwide web.

“We thank you for your interest in us,” the Jubilee Town Primary School principal tells the organisers, “especially as we are from rural areas; and for some of us it’s more than rural, it’s remote. So we thank you for remembering us and may God richly bless you.”