Jamaican Government ministries sign agreement with Microsoft

Thursday, February 19, 2004

KINGSTON, Jamaica: The Jamaican Ministries of Commerce, Science and Technology and, Education, Youth and Culture have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Microsoft Corporation, which will serve as a platform to offer resources for skills training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Jamaica. 

Under the MOU, resources will be provided over the next five years through the Partners in Learning project, to deliver skills training, technical support and broader access to technology to empower students and teachers.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, which took place on February 16, Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology, Phillip Paulwell pointed out that for the past 10 years, Jamaica had been focused on an ICT policy that was propelling the country to be the leader in the region. 

"With the tremendous changes we have pursued in relation to some of the basic infrastructure for ICT, such as our telecommunications liberalization, the modernization of our laws, the establishment of the Central Information Technology Office (CITO), we have seen tremendous growth in the ICT sector in Jamaica," he added.

Partners in Learning supports Microsoft's long-term vision for education and the marketplace, to empower teachers and students to achieve their fullest potential by providing greater access to the latest computer technologies and training in how to use them. 

The programme's three basic components to support implementation include: the Fresh Start for Donated PCs programme, which will provide a simple solution for public and private primary and secondary schools that need to obtain operating system licences for older donated PCS; and the Microsoft School Agreement Licensing Subscription Progamme, through which access to core software tools will be made more affordable to primary and secondary public schools. 

Learning Grants is the third prong of the initiative, which will focus on providing real opportunities to empower schools to significantly raise the level of ICT literacy among staff; support teachers and schools to develop cultures of innovation; and work with schools to prepare students for the digital workplace.

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