Fifty percent of schools across Jamaica are connected to broadband

The Jamaican Minister of Education and Youth revealed that her sector has reached halfway in connecting the nation’s schools to broadband internet. The news was shared during the Hand and Mind LLC Inaugural Robotics and Turkey International Youth  Robotics Conference. The Minister informed the gathering of other achievements in line with the education reformation plans, such as training teachers and students in coding and upgrading all technology equipment in labs in high schools across the island. 

The Ministry’s involvement in the Robotics and Turkey Conference demonstrates the Government’s commitment to bringing the Fourth Industrial Revolution to all education stakeholders. The conference, which concluded on November 25, aimed to improve the performance of FIRST LEGO League (FLL) participants and targeted team members, coaches, parents, and sponsors. FLL provides youths ages 4 to 16 with hands-on relevant STEM training.

Why does it matter?

Here, Jamaica provides an example in particular to the English-speaking Caribbean and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as LAC lags significantly in achieving Education goals set for 2030. According to a WorldBank report published in 2022, ‘education in Latin America and the Caribbean is not only facing a crisis of quality and lag in the wake of the pandemic but also a lack of adequate connectivity.’ Jamaica’s achievement in connecting half of its primary and secondary schools to broadband spells gains for the country in the area of education and, by extension, its economy and that of the region.