MORE than 5,000 students across 28 primary schools in Guyana’s hinterland region are soon to benefit from quality digital education.

This development is being made possible through the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Organisation of American states (OAS) and Profuturo Foundation, last Saturday, in the US.

Signing on behalf of the MoE was Education Minister, Nicolette Henry, while OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro and Sofia Ferandez de Mesa, General Director of ProFuturo Foundation, signed on behalf of their respective organisations.

Guyana now joins 28 countries of Latin America, Africa, and Asia where ProFuturo is already developing its digital education programme and is the first of five countries where the programme is expected to be implemented.

In the Caribbean, an overall 23,000 students are expected to benefit from the programme, which will also be rolled out in the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and Jamaica.

“The platform will be of benefit to 28 hinterland schools, provide training for 449 teachers and 5,435 hinterland students in primary schools across Guyana,” a release from the MoE said.

The release noted that this initiative will bridge the technological gap between the coastal and the hinterland regions of Guyana.

With a mission of globally providing children from vulnerable environments with quality digital education, ProFuturo was launched in 2016 through a partnership between Telefónica Foundation and “La Caixa” Foundation,

It seeks to deliver the best education to 10 million children in vulnerable areas by 2020 and to 25 million by 2030, in keeping with the UN 2030 sustainable development agenda goal four which speaks to access to equitable and inclusive quality education for all.

Making remarks at the signing, Henry expressed the government’s gratitude for the technical assistance being provided by the OAS and Profuturo towards the development of education in Guyana

“The minister also acknowledged that to achieve equitable education in countries with topographies like Guyana, ICT becomes very relevant in ensuring that the same quality of education is provided in all areas,” the release said.

Almagro noted that with Guyana being the first country in the Caribbean region to sign on to the cooperation agreement with Profuturo, the country will serve as the impetus for other Caribbean countries.