102 Chromebooks for Wesley College in Belize City
Since last week, the Ministry of Education has been engaged in the distribution of electronic devices, five thousand Chromebooks to be exact, that were donated to Belize by the Republic of China (Taiwan). Fifteen percent of students from schools most in need will be benefiting from the donation. The devices will be registered to them for use at school and at home; and they will be responsible for its repair and maintenance. Distribution occurred out west earlier this week and today; Wesley College in Belize City got their share. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Christmas came early for Wesley College today as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology continued with its distribution of Chromebooks to schools across the country. Wesley College was the recipient of one hundred and two devices to enhance the digital experience of students. With a population of over six hundred students, the donation will see those most in need receive Chromebooks.
Sherilyn Welch
Sherilyn Welch, Acting Principal, Wesley College
“Digitally is now the way to go and so we are very excited that a hundred and two of our students will get the opportunity that they might have never gotten in their lives to own a device, manipulate a device and take care of it. Research is something that is very rampant now and increasing in schools everywhere and so we want them to use the devices positively as well for research and academic purposes and so we will be monitoring the devices. It is for them and they will take care of it, but we are very excited that we can give them this opportunity and because we know that a lot of them can’t afford it where they come from and so we will select them based on that and we will distribute accordingly.”
As we’ve reported, the Chromebooks are part of a larger donation of five thousand being provided by the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was a commitment made by the Taiwanese president earlier this year to the Government of Belize. The Taiwanese ambassador attended today’s distribution ceremony.
Lily Li-Wen Hsu
Dr. Lily Li-Wen Hsu, Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize
“Taiwan is proud of being a fateful friend and development partner of Belize. We have always been willing to share our knowhow, experience, technology and resources with our good friend, the Belizean government and people. For decades, our two countries have collaborated on various areas in line with the develop goals of Belize. Among the many areas of our bilateral cooperation, education is the most impactful one.”
It’s a generous gift, says Minister of Education Francis Fonseca, that helps to close the digital gap.
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“We were just coming out of COVID; two years of COVID and that we had learnt many important lessons during COVID having to do with access to technology the importance of access to reliable technology. We want to help with that issue, we want to help with closing the digital divide, closing the digital gap. We want to do our part in ensuring that every student in Belize has access to reliable adequate digital device. And so very quickly after that we received word of this gift and it arrived a few months ago, arrived in Belize.”
Fifteen percent of students from standard four to fourth form are getting one of the devices. Duane Moody for News Five.
