A computer training programme for East Ruimveldt youths was launched on Saturday as part of government’s Information Com-munication Technology (ICT) strategy.
The training programme will run for seven weeks with 14 youths in every batch. Classes will be held at the East Ruimveldt Community Centre. The programme was organized by Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.
According to GINA, government has been placing much emphasis on ICT and thus far, there have been “great achievements” since the launch of the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project. Government has and will continue to address the social needs of communities, aiming at youths to ensure they acquire a life skill, GINA reported Ramsaran as saying.
He encouraged the participants to take the programme seriously and to garner whatever knowledge is offered. Much work has been done to ensure that the community centre remains functional so that persons can make use of it to learn a trade, he said. “We have been working assiduously to ensure that this community is up-to-standard. Since then we have had persons embarking on volunteer work to clean and rid the community of garbage and Minister (Robeson) Benn has also helped us with excavators and other equipment to clean silted canals and drains,” Ramsaran was quoted as saying.
He was joined at the launching by Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, who stressed the importance of ICT in Guyana, emphasizing that it is a subject that government has placed at the top of its agenda. “President Jagdeo has said that no child must be left behind and that every Guyanese must have the skills to function in the world of tomorrow and as such, the Government has been pushing the implementation and development of ICT in Guyana,” he stated.
GINA said that, approximately 70 ICT labs have been constructed in secondary schools countrywide and to date, efforts are being made so as to ensure that adults receive the same training, following Government’s policy that, ‘No individual is too young or old to learn ICT.’
It was noted that $1.8B has been earmarked for ICT development through the OLPF in this year’s National Budget.
“The fiber optic cable from Brazil to Guyana which we are working assiduously to have installed will ensure that high speed internet becomes readily available to supply the business demand.
This will also create much more jobs as much more call centers will become operational,” Singh further said.
