Laptops for poor people..
President Jagdeo announced that he plans to give laptops to the poorest families in Guyana, spending some US30 million over the next three years. Kwesi Isles who wrote the article in Stabroek News was looking for views from IT people as to this initiative. The increased bandwidth which GT&T is now selling creates opportunities, and no doubt the President is concerned that there is no digital divide in Guyana. Some IT people, Starr Computers , Brainstreet Learning and other IT businesses are aligning themselves to take advantage of the opportunities - with Starr planning to reduce the costs of laptops, and Brainstreet Learning offering access to its virtual learning environment.
Any IT person would welcome the deployment of Information Technology, and IT people in Guyana have been advocating for the increase in bandwidth. The National ICT4D strategy had a lot of support. The strategy talks about the Government's support for the US100 One Laptop Per Child initiative. There have been problems with the OLPC initiative, and no doubt the Government of Guyana will learn from what has been happening in other countries.
How then should IT people feel about giving laptops to poor people?
It is important for any government to ensure that there is Universal Access to telecommunications and related technology and in Guyana , we have seen how the cell phone competition has reduced the costs of cell phone ownership drastically (ever notice how many people who are seeking help for housing, schooling - through Sharma or other means, have a cell phone number?)
The trouble though, is that nowhere is it reported whether President Jagdeo asked the poor people what they wanted or whether they had any choice in the matter in terms of how the USD 30 Million could be used to assist them.
The Government wants to spend about GYD66,000 per family on giving access to ICT. What if the families decide that they could use this money to fix a roof, invest in some other income earning activity, buy a blackberry? And how should IT people feel if they cannot sell their products and services to the government (90,000 laptops is a lot of laptops !)
Globally, initiatives such as the One Laptop Per Child were based on a philosophy that education is important to come out of poverty , and that IT could enhance, not replace, access to high quality education.
What is our vision for education in Guyana? Is it still considered important enough for our development? Which is better - 30 Million US on laptops, or on paying more teachers, better salaries, improving training and having them more accessible to poor families , who could also get the books, the clothes and food to attend school?
Who will monitor the impact of the laptops on the families? Can the families suggest other ways - maybe expanding on the existing SchoolNet project which might provide ways to sustain the IT resources so that they can be more useful to the people who need them and who would not have to worry about electricity, security, maintenance, etc?
Who will be responsible for the content which these families will access - not only poor families, but also not so poor families? Are there going to be matching initiatives for the Government to rapidly change the way it does business with the citizens so that citizens could now have service on demand?
Will there be money to pay people to be teachers of the skills so that people who are not hungry could use the ICTs for their benefit? In this report of a wonderful project by the Rotary Club of Georgetown Central, there is a two line mention of the teacher Ms Fraser.
I am privileged to know Ms Fraser, and her involvement with the residents was not only about IT skills, but also about encouraging and motivating them to continue the course, to find ways of dealing with literacy and the other challenges they faced. Would the Government be willing to pay more people like Mrs Fraser who will be willing to work with people so that they can be empowered?
21st century Guyana has children who cannot learn because they are hungry.. so how will we- IT people, President Jagdeo and others - ensure that these children and their families are not hungry and therefore be able to enjoy the benefits of the laptop and any of the other initiatives which are put in place to reduce poverty?
This IT man therefore thinks that before giving out the laptops to the poor families, the President should check with them to see what their other needs are and whether there are other ways for him to help them first.
This IT man believes that no child should go hungry in Guyana and that all children should have access to a high quality education with teachers who will help to remove illiteracy and to encourage learning. The children and their families should also have access to services - health, housing, work, security, good governance- and ICTs could enable the delivery of these services and IT people should be kept happy and in business by supporting the infrastructure for these services. Maybe President Jagdeo will talk of these things at another launch.
Any IT person would welcome the deployment of Information Technology, and IT people in Guyana have been advocating for the increase in bandwidth. The National ICT4D strategy had a lot of support. The strategy talks about the Government's support for the US100 One Laptop Per Child initiative. There have been problems with the OLPC initiative, and no doubt the Government of Guyana will learn from what has been happening in other countries.
How then should IT people feel about giving laptops to poor people?
It is important for any government to ensure that there is Universal Access to telecommunications and related technology and in Guyana , we have seen how the cell phone competition has reduced the costs of cell phone ownership drastically (ever notice how many people who are seeking help for housing, schooling - through Sharma or other means, have a cell phone number?)
The trouble though, is that nowhere is it reported whether President Jagdeo asked the poor people what they wanted or whether they had any choice in the matter in terms of how the USD 30 Million could be used to assist them.
The Government wants to spend about GYD66,000 per family on giving access to ICT. What if the families decide that they could use this money to fix a roof, invest in some other income earning activity, buy a blackberry? And how should IT people feel if they cannot sell their products and services to the government (90,000 laptops is a lot of laptops !)
Globally, initiatives such as the One Laptop Per Child were based on a philosophy that education is important to come out of poverty , and that IT could enhance, not replace, access to high quality education.
What is our vision for education in Guyana? Is it still considered important enough for our development? Which is better - 30 Million US on laptops, or on paying more teachers, better salaries, improving training and having them more accessible to poor families , who could also get the books, the clothes and food to attend school?
Who will monitor the impact of the laptops on the families? Can the families suggest other ways - maybe expanding on the existing SchoolNet project which might provide ways to sustain the IT resources so that they can be more useful to the people who need them and who would not have to worry about electricity, security, maintenance, etc?
Who will be responsible for the content which these families will access - not only poor families, but also not so poor families? Are there going to be matching initiatives for the Government to rapidly change the way it does business with the citizens so that citizens could now have service on demand?
Will there be money to pay people to be teachers of the skills so that people who are not hungry could use the ICTs for their benefit? In this report of a wonderful project by the Rotary Club of Georgetown Central, there is a two line mention of the teacher Ms Fraser.
I am privileged to know Ms Fraser, and her involvement with the residents was not only about IT skills, but also about encouraging and motivating them to continue the course, to find ways of dealing with literacy and the other challenges they faced. Would the Government be willing to pay more people like Mrs Fraser who will be willing to work with people so that they can be empowered?
21st century Guyana has children who cannot learn because they are hungry.. so how will we- IT people, President Jagdeo and others - ensure that these children and their families are not hungry and therefore be able to enjoy the benefits of the laptop and any of the other initiatives which are put in place to reduce poverty?
This IT man therefore thinks that before giving out the laptops to the poor families, the President should check with them to see what their other needs are and whether there are other ways for him to help them first.
This IT man believes that no child should go hungry in Guyana and that all children should have access to a high quality education with teachers who will help to remove illiteracy and to encourage learning. The children and their families should also have access to services - health, housing, work, security, good governance- and ICTs could enable the delivery of these services and IT people should be kept happy and in business by supporting the infrastructure for these services. Maybe President Jagdeo will talk of these things at another launch.
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