St. Kitts – Nevis PM – Denzil Douglas
Photo By Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
April 12, 2011 (CUOPM)
The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis will be replacing several pockets of technological and administrative inexperience with new pools of expanded skills with the introduction of its One-to-One Laptop Computer Initiative.
St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas said the programme in which all high school students will receive laptops will not only benefit the students, but also their household and the nation at large will as well.
He said advancing the social, economic, and political interests of Kittitians and Nevis is, for the government an unquestioned priority.
“Almost nothing can be accomplished these days without computers. Even the most basic of transactions, especially when dealing with the wider world, relies on some level of proficiency with this technology,” said Dr. Douglas, pointing out that St. Kitts and Nevis has not been independent very long.
“We are not a powerful nation. And we certainly are not an economic powerhouse on the global stage. Nonetheless, we are a well-managed, stable democracy, and it was ““ and is – important to my Government that the people of this country not find themselves at a competitive disadvantage vis-Ã -vis the rest of the world where the multifaceted uses of computers are concerned. And so, in an attempt to keep the people of our tiny, but blessed and special, nation at the front of the line, my Government, as you know, launched the One-to-One Laptop Program in Nevis recently,” said Dr. Douglas during his weekly radio call-in programme “Ask the Prime Minister” which is syndicated on several radio stations simultaneously.
Dr. Douglas disclosed that teachers, administrators, and fifth formers in Nevis received their computers, with their counterparts in St. Kitts slated to receive theirs at the beginning of the new school term and third and fourth formers slated to receive theirs in September.
“Now ““ on the surface, the One-to-One Program seems to benefit the students to whom they are given. In truth and in fact, however, these laptops will have the broader benefit of also familiarizing older and other relatives of the students with computers ““ many who might otherwise have very little contact with this equipment and its potential,” said Dr. Douglas.
“When one is striving to ensure that the nation’s young people advance themselves, and then one is confronted with the extreme criminality of some, one is reminded of the complexity of the task at hand, and of the importance of continuing to develop the strengths of the majority of our youths, while using the resources of the Government to prevent negative traits from taking root in others,” said Prime Minister.