In keeping with its pledge to keep everyone connected during Barbados’ response to COVID-19, Digicel and the Ministry of Education, Technological & Vocational Training announced today the launch of free access to the Government’s suite of eLearning platforms over Digicel’s mobile network.
With the support of the Ministry of Information Science & Smart Technology (MIST), Digicel is working with the Ministry of Education to deliver its eLearning solution for Term 3 to all (2 600 teachers and over 35 000 school children) across all public schools in Barbados.
On behalf of the Government of Barbados, the Minister of Education, Hon. Miss Santia J.O. Bradshaw said: “Our Goal with the remote learning platform is to provide all students of Barbados with the tools they need to continue their education while out of the classroom. We are doing this by creating a virtual learning environment that all students and teachers can access.
“I would like to acknowledge Digicel’s ongoing support for this initiative through enabling free access from their LTE network for all teachers and students to Google Classroom and all of the websites on the edu.bb domain.”
This is a critical initiative that will help ensure all students across Barbados can access the Ministry’s official eLearning platform. Digicel is proud to be a part of this forward-thinking programme and will be providing free access from its LTE mobile network to the Ministry’s suite of online educational resources which include Google Classroom, Google Meet and the websites of Barbados Community College, Codrington College, Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, Higher Education Development Unit, Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology, The Media Resource Department and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology, as well as the websites of Trident Learning & The Caribbean Exam Council to help students continue their education while they remain at home due to the coronavirus curfew. In addition Digicel is providing free access to the Learning Hub, Edmodo and Book Fusion.
The websites have been zero-rated on the Digicel mobile network (meaning that users do not need to use data to access them). This move sees Digicel play a vital role in ensuring that the youth of this country experience a seamless learning experience while at home.
Digicel Barbados CEO, Yaser Maher, commented: “Part of our role as an essential service provider is to ensure we keep Barbados connected, especially throughout these challenging times. Many of our customers will have adjusted to working from home, bringing new ways of working and challenges to their daily lives. However, it is also an opportunity for new methods of teaching, learning, and developmental opportunities for our future leaders.
“We are delighted to be able to support the Government of Barbados with their new remote learning programme, by providing free access to all official Ministry approved remote learning resources and websites. Teachers and students wishing to avail of this offer can contact Digicel on 530-7163 or 530-7063 daily between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. for the delivery of a SIM. Customers can also call us on this number to get more information or for non-Digicel customers to get a SIM.”
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