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First Universal Service Fund ICT Club launched at Central High School

Published:Saturday | April 15, 2023 | 12:39 AM
Legal officer at the Universal Service Fund (USF), Latona Stewart (right), pins student and member of the USF ICT Club at Central High School in May Pen, Clarendon, Sania Smith (second right). Occasion was the recent launch of the group. Other members (fro
JIS
Legal officer at the Universal Service Fund (USF), Latona Stewart (right), pins student and member of the USF ICT Club at Central High School in May Pen, Clarendon, Sania Smith (second right). Occasion was the recent launch of the group. Other members (from left) are Kajaun Haynes, Rihanna Barrett, and Riana Harris, who is also treasurer of the group.

The first Universal Service Fund (USF) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Club for high schools aimed at promoting digital literacy and bridging the digital divide among Jamaica’s youths has been established at Central High School in Clarendon.

Launched recently, the club’s membership is 56 people and has a growing list of prospective members. The initiative will provide students with a platform to apply ICT concepts to real-world scenarios, promote ingenuity and develop soft skills in leadership, critical-thinking, teamwork, and communication.

Treasurer of the Club, Riana Richards, told JIS News that the members are very excited to be the first school to have such a club, adding that they conduct weekly meetings and are planning several programmes to ensure that ICT is embraced by many students as possible.

She said they are in the completion stage of their school’s Website, which will be used to promote the institution’s activities, its history and the academic offerings, with a special focus on “information technology skills” development. The Treasurer strongly believes that the club will help with the improvement of students’ technology skills, such as programming, coding, robotics and Website development.

Teacher at Central High, and adviser to the club, Sasha Burke, said that for sometime she toyed with the idea of having a formal ICT group at the school, and when “we spoke to persons at the USF, everything came together, and I am really glad that we did”. Burke told JIS News that she is pleased with the interest shown by the students in the group.

She said this will give the school much more exposure, and students at the school and other institutions can get information about the various subjects offered at the institution’s evening classes.

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