NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Laurel Lundy, acting principal at Doris Johnson Senior High School, said the gift of 109 tablets by an anonymous donor to the institution will allow students to have a greater opportunity of achieving academic success.
Jack Thompson, permanent secretary, presented the gift to Lundy on behalf of an anonymous donor through the Office of Governor General CA Smith at a recent ceremony in the foyer of the school.
The event was also attended by Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd; Permanent Secretary Lorraine Armbrister; Deputy Director of Education Julian Anderson; students; and other school and Ministry of Education (MOE) officials.
Lloyd expressed appreciation to the governor general, a former minister of education, for his partnership.
“His commitment to education is not unusual. This is not extraordinary; this is standard for him. This is among many other contributions that he has made in technology for the advancement of our children,” said Lloyd.
He asked Thompson to extend to the governor general the ministry’s deeply felt gratitude and sincere appreciation, respect and admiration for his partnership in assisting to deliver access to quality education for Bahamian students.
Lloyd gave an overview of the journey of the MOE following Hurricane Dorian from the launch of its virtual school, considered a “signature achievement” in education; to the pandemic, when face-to-face instruction ceased; to becoming a smart-school with the need to provide devices for students and teachers who did not have or could not acquire them.
“We were learning how to teach and learn online while we were teaching and learning online, and we did it,” said Lloyd.
He thanked corporate Bahamas for their kind generosity and assistance in ensuring no student is left behind and that every student who needs a device has one.
Some 40,000 devices have been distributed throughout the MOE and in partnership with corporate Bahamas. Free W-Fi is also available and accessible on New Providence and the Family Islands through Aliv and BTC to enable students through the devices to access courses online.
Lloyd added: “We have had to go from pre-K, metaphorically, to post-graduate in university in 18 months — a program that would ordinarily take you some 12 to 14 years, we had to do it and I am here proudly to proclaim that we did it.”
A similar exercise took place in November 2020, also through the Office of the Governor General, at NGM Major High School on Long Island.
