Education Minister, Priya Manickchand says that while $100M was “sitting” in a bank account to assist teachers procure laptops, the Coalition government never utilised it.
During the budget debate today, the Minister said that the revolving fund was set up at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government to subsidise the purchase of laptops for educators.
Manickchand said that it is ironic that former Education Minister, Dr Nicolette Henry claims that the PPP/C collapsed the One Laptop Initiative, when it was the David Granger administration that repackaged the One Laptop for Family to One Laptop per Teacher Initiative, but only ran the programme for a year.
“So, for four years, teachers in this country never saw a laptop from them,” she told the House.
She said that the government will restore the Tablets, Laptops for Teachers Initiative “which was abolished by the APNU+AFC, even though money was in an account they never used for those teachers”.
