Minister of Education Priya Manickchand has assured that 90 per cent of the Information Technology (IT) laboratories in schools throughout Guyana are in use, with functional computers.
The Minister was responding to questions posed in Parliament by Opposition Chief Whip and Member of Parliament (M.P) Amna Ally over the functionality of Information Technology (IT) equipment given to secondary schools across the country.
In a written question, Ally asked the Education Minister to provide the National Assembly with the requisite information pertaining to the functionality of IT equipment in secondary schools, a list of those schools where the equipment are non functional, and how soon they would be fixed?
The Education Minister in a written response said that “IT equipment was provided to 95 secondary schools between 2010 and 2013. It is virtually impossible to say at any specific moment that all the equipment are in use and functional. However, based on feedback received from the regions and visits, over 90% of the IT labs are in use with functioning computers.”
The Minister pointed out that the responsibility lies with the various departments of Education to rectify the problems of non functionality. “Once the computers are installed and certified as functional in the schools, it is the responsibility of the various Departments of Education to budget for repairs and maintenance and even replacement of equipment. The Management Information System (MIS) Unit does not have the staff to service hundred of schools throughout Guyana, though it may assist from time to time.” Manickchand posited.
The Education Minister furnished a list of 93 Secondary Schools in Regions One to Ten which are equipped with IT departments, both functional and non functional.
According to the list provided, 75 of the Secondary Schools have functional IT equipment while the remaining twenty -three were deemed non functional.
However, thirteen of those twenty -three schools recently received IT labs and works are presently ongoing to them up and running.
Meanwhile, two schools; Central High and Kinston Secondary are slated to be outfitted with IT labs in 2014.
The IT labs in the remaining seven schools were listed as non functional due to electrical/power issues and network instillation problems which are being rectified by the respective institutions according to the Minister.
Source: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2013/11/12/majority-of-it-labs-in-secondary-schools-functional-minister/