THE SchoolNet Guyana pilot project, being undertaken by Global Partnership for Literacy (Global Literacy) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, got under way yesterday at Diamond Secondary School, East Bank Demerara.

Students unveil this special plaque to the Diamond Secondary School Computer Lab. Looking on at right is Minister of Education, Mr. Shaik Baksh, and at from left is Vice-Chairman of the local committee, Mr. Conrad, and Global Literacy Chairman, Mr. Danny Doobay.

In the partnership, the Canadian non-profit organisation, Global Literacy is working with the Ministry to computerise all secondary schools in this country and the one at Diamond School computer lab, which has 30 computers, is estimated to cost about US$65,000.

SchoolNet Guyana is computer-based and the objective is to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the targeted schools.

Global Literacy was established two years ago and is creating SchoolNet chapters in Canada, United States (U.S.) and the United Kingdom (UK), to assist with the acquisition of funds, equipment, technical expertise and promotion of the scheme.

SchoolNet Guyana seeks to support the national ICT strategy, to expand its use in education and help bridge the digital divide; assist the school alumni and community groups to realise positive outcomes from their investment in school programmes locally and promote computer-aided literacy in this country.

SchoolNet Guyana envisages that, by 2013, every educator and learner in the secondary education stream will be empowered to use appropriate and available technology to complete the curriculum requirements of their programmes.

Chairperson of Global Literacy and Guyana’s Honorary Consul General in Toronto, Canada, Mr. Danny Doobay expressed gratitude to President Bharrat Jagdeo who met with the board in Toronto and encouraged the development of SchoolNet Guyana.

Doobay also acknowledged the tremendous amount of work being done within the Education Ministry in the quest to expose students to technology, especially with its limited human and financial resources.

“Global Literacy is happy to be participating in this unique partnership with the Ministry of Education and for the benefit of the next generation of leaders in this country,” he said.

Observing the speed at which the development of technology has been moving, Doobay said it is exhorting more and more control over daily lives and, increasingly, presenting challenges to keep the pace.

He said computer literacy is now an essential competence and SchoolNet Guyana is less about computers in labs and programmes but is more about people.

Change programme
“It is a change programme, one that requires open minds, a significant level of training and the willingness to change the ways in which things are done,” Doobay posited.

He observed that people, generally, are resistant to change, so the cooperation and active participation of all stakeholders, particularly, the players in the education sector, are critical success factors in the programme.

Global Literacy and the Ministry are currently working on four other pilot school programmes at Bygeval, Patentia, Beterverwagting and Parika and, over the last several months, substantial works have been done at Parika and Bygeval, while Patentia and Beterverwagting are expected to be completed within a few weeks.

“The configuration of these pilots is intended to evaluate some assumptions taken by our engineers and, once these labs are completed, we will engage in about two months of observations, after which we will complete the specifications for a standardised lab,” Doobay elaborated.

He said the standards will cover all areas of the lab, including security, furniture, wiring and lighting and will be presented to the Ministry for consideration and approval.

“The standardised lab will certainly be less expensive to build and, most certainly, less expensive to maintain. Once this programme is done, I think we will be moving into a full roll out of the SchoolNet programme in other secondary schools,” Doobay assured.

He said SchoolNet is currently being funded by the diaspora and a number of supporting partners in Canada and U.S., among them Microsoft, which is providing software.

Doobay disclosed that, to date, commitments for 38 schools, from partners in Canada and U.S., have been made and Global Literacy is seeking additional support from a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), funding institutions and commercial enterprises, with some very fruitful discussions, to date.

He reiterated the importance of partnership to the success of the venture and said education is the responsibility of not just the Ministry but also everyone else, the Private Sector and other stakeholders included.

Doobay said important, as well, are the Parent Teachers Associations (PTAs) in the schools and sustainability of the programme.

“We have developed an entire module to
work with and strengthen the PTAs, especially as it relates to ICT and to the labs in the school.

Optimum benefit
“I think it is you, the community, the teachers, the headteachers, who will make a difference in whether this programme is successful or not and whether the students will derive the most optimum benefit and, in doing so, set the road for a promising future for themselves,” he stated.

Doobay said he is confident they can provide Guyanese children with the technological tools needed to be competitive in this increasingly global environment.

“SchoolNet Guyana is intended to be a transformational programme,” he offered.

Minister of Education, Mr. Shaik Baksh said the Diamond School is about one year old and, in many respects, is a pilot.

He said he satisfied that the school is one of the first pilot projects and, within another two weeks, the Ministry will be implementing the software programme there, to help the students improve in literacy and numeracy.

Baksh said it is software utilising computers for which the Ministry has a licence and it has shown much promise, the use having started in about ten pilot schools over the last few years.

He said significant improvement has been seen in some of the schools and the Ministry has decided to expand the programme, with 60 primary schools expected to utilise it to enhance and improve the quality of education.

Baksh said his ministry has also established a top level committee for the SchoolNet programme and pointed out that there are five main planks of the education sector on which the ministry is focusing, for which ICT will be an important component.

He recalled that Guyana, in 2006, unveiled the national ICT strategy and appreciates the involvement of Global Literacy through SchoolNet.

Baksh gave the assurance that Government is treating this area as a priority and outlined some of the plans and programmes in various areas of the Education Sector.

“Things are on the move but we started from a very low base and there is now an acceleration,” he reported.

Headmistress of Diamond Secondary, Mrs. Pamela Bridgewater, in welcoming remarks, said the lab is a pivotal link to providing students with an opportunity to learn and practice the basics of computerising, Internet usage, research, information access and ICT skills, in general.

She asserted that the introduction of ICT is a significant change for the education system in most schools.

Inaugural project
“We, at the Diamond Secondary School, are grateful for this opportunity to be part of this inaugural project. We can assure you that the students will make maximum use of this new facility,” Bridgewater pledged.

Chair of Global Literacy (Guyana), Mr. Geoff DaSilva said the role of the local board or council will be to support the Education Ministry, the school, its teachers and students and the communities, to make the programme a success for many years, as well as, to work closely with the diaspora in Toronto and New York.

He said the main focus of the local management council will be on building partnership, noting that it is very challenging but, with private and public sector experience and technical expertise, it is going to be successful.

Underscoring the crucial role of the Private Sector, Da Silva said some companies are on board.

“This is something very serious. Something that will make a difference in your lives, your families’ lives and the community life and we pledge to do and play our part along with the other partners,” he said.

The scheme’s key elements are system-wide ICT infrastructure; professional development; training and capacity building; digital content; software and ICT dissemination.

Global Literacy, the principal sponsor, is a diaspora based NGO spearheaded by a board of well qualified individuals from academia, the social sciences, business, engineering, technology and project management, with on-the-ground support from the Education Ministry.

It is committed to promoting literacy with a vision to empower people and communities and, together with the Ministry, will jointly implement SchoolNet Guyana, in accordance with a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and joint funding by the two parties, over five years.

The Board of Global Literacy, apart from Chairman Doobay comprises Vice-Chairman, Infrastructure Committee, Mr. Wilfred McAlmont; Chairman, Mobilisation Committee, Mr. Ron Cheong; Treasurer, Ms. Lisa Punit; Chairperson, Training Committee, Ms. Mary Nippak; Chairperson, Marketing Committee and Secretary, Ms. Rookie Doobay and Chairman, Partnership Committee, Mr. Michael Annamunthodo.
Ms. Waheeda Rahman and Dr. Jang Singh are other directors.