Robotic kits and training for St. Pius students
― Min. Hughes visits to observe progress on Robotics Club
― establishment of ICT Hubs to continue
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes visited St. Pius Primary School today to observe the progress made by the student members of the newly established robotics club in the local community Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hub.
On Monday last, the ministry donated Robotic kits to St. Pius Primary School to facilitate the training of the students in Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Despite having undergone only two (2) days of training, the students of St. Pius Primary were able to utilise the robotic kits and the scratch programme and even explain their uses and operations.
Audrey Messiah, a teacher at St. Pius Primary, commented on the initiative noting that the “Robotics club is a really good programme” because it allows for the expansion of the students’ vocabulary and it requires them to apply and focus the knowledge that they have learnt from the various subjects all in one area. She further stated that it was the benefit that STEM provides for the students that motivated her to “get involved.”
Minister Hughes enthusiastically told the students that the ministry is working hard to ensure they can provide Guyanese children with the “same opportunities that any child in any other part of the world would have.”
Additionally, she related that the aim of her ministry is the ensure that Guyanese youths are “exposed to technology and have an opportunity to be trained.” In pursuit of this objective, the ministry has already established 174 ICT hubs across Guyana, all of which are equipped with internet access and computers.
Currently, the ministry has identified 35 of these hubs where students in these areas can be trained in programmes, such as robotic training, gaming and website building, by STEM Guyana “absolutely free of cost.”
Moreover, Minister Hughes urged parents, students and teachers, to take full advantage of the opportunity made available to them, and to value and promote the initiative by taking care of the materials and equipment being provided by the government.
Karen Abrahams, Coordinator of STEMGuyana, said that organisation wants to introduce the programme to schools where the students would not normally participate in such activities as “talent is evenly distributed, but the opportunity is not.”
The establishment of ICT Community Hubs is a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, the Ministry of Education, the Department of Youth and STEMGuyana.
Onika Bobb.
Image: Giovanni Gajie.