Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 15, 2010 (SKNIS): Fifth formers will be the first to receive laptops in a programme being finalized by the Ministry of Education in which all schools students in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis will receive laptops from the Government.
 

Some 1,000 students who will be doing examinations in June 2011, will receive the laptops to assist them with their work and to facilitate their use of the Internet for educational purposes.
 

Prime Minister Douglas in his 2011 Budget to the Federation said Government recognized the importance of providing access to computers to all students and embarked upon an ambitious programme that ensured that every school in the Federation had access to computers.
 

He added that while it was a commendable first step, for his Government, that was not enough and as such efforts have been made to expand the programme to the extent where each student will personally receive one.
 

The Prime Minister added that the development of the Information Technology sector is not just a priority for students as his Government also ensures that public servants have the most recent technology for use in their daily operations and the Ministry of Information and Technology has undertaken efforts to improve the telecommunications infrastructure.
 

Part of this upgrade will be the 2011 improvement in the public sector phone system through the development of an IP (Internet Protocol) base system that will allow calls to be made more efficiently and in a cost effective manner.
 

The new programme is projected to result in a 50% reduction in the operational cost, which has been estimated at a $1 million saving in Government’s communication costs.