AN estimated 200,000 students at 300 primary schools across the island are expected to benefit from free Internet access through a partnership between the LIME Foundation and the Ministry of Education.

Garry Sinclair, managing director of LIME Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, on Thursday said that the project will run over three years, covering 100 schools each year.

“We accept, without reservation, that we have a vital role to play in creating the future that we want for our children — one where our young people excel in schools, and go on to become valuable contributors to a productive sector,” Sinclair said at a press conference at LIME’s corporate office in St Andrew.

He said that the mandate of the LIME Foundation places great emphasis on providing the best exposure to information and communication technology among Jamaica’s youth.

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites welcomed the move, noting that the benefits of the programme were far-reaching.

“With the e-learning process deal to extend computer access to the primary sector, having done so significantly for the high school sector in its originating years, there is another connection and I don’t think you know, it is the intention of the ministry to cluster infant schools with primary schools where there is space. So therefore the services which e-learning will make available and which will be connected with LIME access is going to benefit a much larger cohort, Garry, than even you anticipated.”
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