Ministry of Education & Youth

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Some 300 computers are to be distributed among 40 primary schools islandwide, donated by the Caribbean Classic Golf Invitational (CCGI) Foundation, a United States based Foundation headed by Richard Stephenson, a Jamaican.

Certificates of guarantee for the computers were presented to the Principals of the benefiting schools at a ceremony held at the Catherine Hall Primary School in Montego Bay, today (June 15). The computers will be handed over in another few weeks.

Addressing the ceremony, Mr. Stephenson said that computers represented the way of today and the future, and was the medium through which the entire world could connect.

He said he is motivated to give back something to his native country, and has set himself the task of furnishing all the primary schools across Jamaica with a computer learning centre, with at least 15 computers each.

"We decided to look at the primary schools, not only in the capital (Kingston), but we decided to look at the primary schools from every inch of Jamaica, so that is the driving force behind what we are doing," he said.

The Foundation operates the Caribbean Classic Invitational Golf Tournament, the proceeds from which are used to fund the provision of the computers for the schools. This year marks the third year since the inception and implementation of the golf tournament, which has led to approximately 65 primary schools benefiting to date.

The golf tournament is marketed as a celebrity event, usually supported annually by several celebrities from around the world.

Principal of the Catherine Hall Primary School, Yvonne Gordon, expressed appreciation for the gift to her school, explaining that the school currently has a pilot programme being run by the Ministry of Education and Youth, aimed at integrating the use of instructional technology in schools.

"The teachers can use the computers as a teaching tool, and the students can gain information from the many educational sites on the Internet. The style of teaching and learning must reflect the way students learn," she said.

Mrs. Gordon was particularly pleased that the school would now be in a position to provide a service for the many students who would not have the facilities at home. She gave the assurance that both teachers and students would use the facility in a structured way.

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