Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir yesterday indicated that the administration is on course to deliver on its promise to hand over 27,000 netbooks under the OLPF by early December, while dispelling suggestions that there was some sinister motive behind the recent distributions of CDs along with the computers.
Last week, the government started distributing 5,000 computers as it officially rolled out the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project. The first 1,000 were distributed on Tuesday at a ceremony held at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) where the beneficiaries were also given CDs.
Questions were raised about the CDs since netbooks do not contain CD ROMs and when this was raised with Nadir, he said that the manufacturers had sent with every computer a back-up CD with Windows Starters. “There is no sinister motive for the CDs,” Nadir emphasized. He said that the CDs were sent as a precautionary measure in case a recipient has to reload programmes on the system. Indicating that CDs are cheaper than flash drives, Nadir said that should a system need to be reloaded, the custodian would take it to one of the OLPF hubs where it can be uploaded by an external CD ROM.
Meanwhile, Nadir said that the government is set to meet its deadline of delivering 27,000 computers by December 5. He said that 10,000 computers were expected here by yesterday but these have been delayed and are expected here by Friday. Meanwhile, the distribution of the initial 5,000 has almost been completed and training has started at most of the 35 centres where internet access is available.
According to Nadir, the biggest challenge so far has been that some persons have damaged the batteries while trying to install them. These batteries will have to be replaced.
Nadir said that as a result of this experience, the staff working in the hubs and centres have been installing the batteries themselves.
The OLPF is the brainchild of President Jagdeo, according to the OLPF Secretariat and it is aimed at developing the country’s ICT sector. It has been at the centre of debate, as some critics view the project as an election gimmick.
However, the government has maintained that the project focuses on bridging the digital divide and enhancing community and economic development.
Critics have said that better options would be to provide all teachers with laptops or to equip each child with a laptop within the school setting. Questions have been raised about maintenance of the equipment, theft, reliability and cost of internet connections and ultimately the purpose for which the laptops would will be used.
Under the OLPF, the government plans to distribute 90,000 computers to poor families over the next two years.
