Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 21, 2014 (SKNIS): Friday’s (March 21) simultaneous launch of the Education Network (EduNET) in several high schools across St. Kitts and Nevis highlights the tremendous potential of the new technology to enhance the education landscape and empower teachers and students.
Prime Minister the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas and Minister of Information Technology Honourable Glenn Phillip participated in the programme at the Verchilds High School while the Minister of Education Honourable Nigel Carty did so at the Saddlers Secondary School. LIME’s Country Manager David Lake appeared live from the Basseterre High School and Federal Minister Honourable Patrice Nisbett and Premier Honourable Vance Amory of the Nevis Island Administration witnessed the launch from the Charlestown Secondary School.
EduNET provides a secure, resilient, stable, high speed network for the purposes of communication, collaboration, e-Learning and research to be used by secondary school students.
Chairman of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (NTRC) Christopher McMahon referred to the recent State of the Union Address by United States President Barack Obama who highlighted plans to have public high schools linked via broadband.
“St. Kitts and Nevis again, small, not very rich in financial resources but extremely rich with human capital and human intellect because we are there already,” he stressed.
Information Technology Minister Glenn Phillip noted that history was being made in the Federation yet again.
“Today the public secondary schools are witness to the launch of what began as a dream that grew to become a concept, then a plan of action and now an opportunity for our Federation’s youth to even further partake in the diverse activities of the global village and market place,” he stated.
The EduNET complements the government’s One-2-One Laptop Project which has issued more than 9,000 personal computers during 2011 to 2013. A Mobile Applications Development Workshop staged in 2012 is also in keeping with the i-Literacy vision.
“This government’s strategy to equip and seed the values of innovation through access to global digital information resources is well on its way to the culturing of the digital information then knowledge society and economy that we seek to nurture,” Minister Phillip added. “Students of the Federation, the ball is in your court. You now have the access that others in counties twice our size crave.
…Whether you equip yourselves to utilize the information available to better prepare for completion of assignments or to study for tests or exams, or to develop rich local content that others can utilize is a choice that this government has made possible through [various] initiatives.”
The EduNET was constructed at a cost of US$1.2 million. The broadband service and maintenance of the network will be provided by LIME.
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