‘$500m spent on learning tools’ in Trinidad and Tobago

TECH NEWS– The Government has spent over $500 million on essential tools for learning for pupils in Trinidad and Tobago over the last four years—$252.4 million on laptops and $250 million on textbooks.
This was revealed yesterday by Minister of Education Dr Tim Gopeesingh.

Responding to a question in the Senate filed by People’s National Movement (PNM) Senator Camille Robinson-Regis, Gopee­singh said to date the ministry had purchased 73,200 laptops at a cost of $252,435,665.49. He said total expenditure on the ecal (e-connect and learn) programme to date was $261,406,715.49. The Government also planned to spend $10 million to repair damag­ed laptops of secondary school pupils, he said.

Gopeesingh said this year the Government would be providing 18,500 laptops for pupils entering Form One and 1,500 laptops for teachers in primary schools for use in the scoring of pupils under the Continuous Assessment Programme.
“By September 2014, this People’s Partnership Government would have provided close to 92,000 to students in Forms One to Five,” he said.  More