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School vows to upskill residents in new computer lab

Published:Thursday | February 18, 2021 | 12:20 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
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Maxine Coast-Brown, principal of Barracks Road Primary School, instructs her student Fitzroy Harris on how to use the computer while Daniel Dawes, Chief Executive Officer at the Universal Service Fund at the Commissioning of the Barracks Road Primary Schoo
Photo by Albert Ferguson
Maxine Coast-Brown, principal of Barracks Road Primary School, instructs her student Fitzroy Harris on how to use the computer while Daniel Dawes, Chief Executive Officer at the Universal Service Fund at the Commissioning of the Barracks Road Primary School Community Access point.
Lloyd B. Smith (seated), managing director of Western Publishers Ltd, appears to need lots of help from (from left) Heroy Clarke, member of parliament for St James Central; Daniel Dawes, CEO of the Universal Service Fund (USF); Patrick Clarke, managing dir
Ashley Anguin/Photographer
Lloyd B. Smith (seated), managing director of Western Publishers Ltd, appears to need lots of help from (from left) Heroy Clarke, member of parliament for St James Central; Daniel Dawes, CEO of the Universal Service Fund (USF); Patrick Clarke, managing director of the Boys and Girls Club; and Richard Vernon, deputy mayor of Montego Bay. The club is one of several schools or organisations that have benefited from USF assistance.
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WESTERN BUREAU:

A school principal has pledged to reskill residents of Barracks Road, Hart Street, and adjoining neighbourhoods in St James through the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) $10-million investment in a newly commissioned computer lab and community access point.

The ramping up of Internet access has been viewed as timely by Barracks Road Primary principal Maxine Coast-Brown, hinting at the greater dependence on online classes because most schools remain closed under coronavirus containment measures.

“As a school, we will seek to reach out to our community members and enable them to garner additional skills and knowledge so that they can compete effectively within the global space,” Coates-Brown said at the commissioning of the Barracks Road Primary School Community Access Point on Tuesday.

“So many are there to benefit in a time where the demand for Internet access and access to technology is at an all-time high.”

Coast-Brown said that teachers, parents, and students at Barracks Road Primary were appreciative of the partnership with the USF.

The community lab was outfitted with 21 computers, two printers, and other equipment, including two air-conditioning units.

The school has also benefited from the installation of 72 solar panels and supporting fixtures, which will lessen the school’s reliance on electricity provider, the Jamaica Public Service Company.

Daniel Dawes, the USF’s chief executive officer, warned that if the community access point was not being used for educational and other designated purposes, the equipment could be repossessed.

“What we have done now is that we have put in place monitoring officers in the organisation. You will see them come to assess and to see whether or not the tools are being used for the intended purposes, and if they are not being used, I guarantee you I will take a truck and I am going to bring out here,” Dawes said as he warned against vandalism, theft, and any departure from the mandate of the community access point.

Speaking ahead of the commissioning ceremony, Dawes said that three other schools and community groups have benefited from a cumulative investment of $34 million. They are Goodwill Primary and Infant School, Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club, and Flanker Primary and Infant School.