With thousands of students unable to access online classes due to a lack of devices and connectivity, leading telecoms and entertainment provider Flow Trinidad has stepped in to answer a call by the Ministry of Education through its Adopt a School Programme.
This presentation of devices to the students at Egypt Village Government Primary School, through its Principal Mrs. Joy Gabriel-Neptune, represents the continuation of a programme of support to schools in South Trinidad by Flow.
Speaking at a brief handover ceremony, Flow’s Country Manager, Kurleigh Prescod said “we are really happy and honoured to extend this gesture in support of the Ministry of Education’s response to the COVID-19 crisis to ensure that no child gets left behind.”
“This presentation is the first of many donations to come, and it is just a small extension of all of the work that we have been doing in support of incorporating ICT in education,” he added.
Flow has been working with pennacool.com educating Standards 4 and 5 students. Through this exercise, more than 400 devices thus far have been donated to schools and students for online educational activities.
Flow recently provided free broadband internet services to seven student support centres in the La Brea constituency which have been set up to welcome students who may not have devices or internet connection at home.
Prescod said Flow will “continue to participate and contribute and give wholeheartedly in ensuring that our young population, our students, are able to continue to be connected and learn while they are at home and to continue to have access to the ICT tools that they need in order to successfully advance in their educational endeavours.”
In her address, Dr. Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Minister of Education said although COVID-19 has disrupted our lives, “it is heartening to see how Trinidad and Tobago has come on board to bring back some sense of normalcy, discipline, learning, togetherness, family to our children.”
“Flow, I want to thank you for being a big, important and integral part of this village that has played a very pivotal role. I want to thank you for stepping forward. In our world now, no child left behind means no child left offline,” the Minister added.
Also present at the formal handover ceremony which took place on November 10 at the Ministry’s Head Office in Port of Spain were Lenore Baptiste-Simmons, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education; Cindy Ann Gatt, Director, Commercial Operations, South Caribbean, Flow; and Yolande Agard-Simmons, Manager Communications, Flow.
COMMENTS