The
“One Laptop Per Child” program, which aims to provide modern
laptops and internet to public schools, covers already 100 percent of
the primary educational institutions nationwide, reported yesterday
by the Ministry of Education. Oscar Becerra, director of the
Educational Technology sector said that from 2007 up to date they
acquired 840 000 laptops for children in state schools. From that
total, 300 thousand are already in use and the difference in
distribution.
During
the international forum “towards
a first world education: Education Agenda 2011-2016”, it was noted
that public school students can use these machines for at least four
hours per week, two in the classroom and two in their free time.
The
last purchase
of these laptops for school was made in December last year and
comprised 500 000 laptops. The investment up to date in this
technology exceeds 155 million soles (around US$ 54 millions). "There
is possible to get this program including high school, but because
lack of time it will be not possible before the end of the current
government. At the moment we are loading the software and training
teachers in using this technology", said Becerra in the Chamber
of Commerce Lima (CCL).
The
low-cost computing and technological skills in the classroom help to
advance the
knowledge of the people, improve the access to information, creating
opportunities for students and bridge the digital gap between schools
in rural and urban areas of the country, he added.
According
to Becerra, lack of electricity in some rural areas is not an
impediment to ensure the functioning of these children use laptops,
because for this it has solar panels that help generate energy. He
added that in the case of areas where there is no chance of internet
access, connectivity tools are implemented offline, letting you
access and navigate the most important American educational portals
through a USB memory.
"We
have also acquired and are in the process of delivery, multimedia
projectors for each school with more
than 100 students, so that more students can access educational
content and that all students will be familiar with computers",
he said.
The vice president of the Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL), Jorge von
Wedemeyer, said that in 2021 the budget allocated to education in
Peru could rise 3 to 5.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For
this the government needs to increase each year, gradually and
continuously, around 0.25 percent of GDP to this education sector.
This will allow Peru to achieve high levels of education.
(Source:
El Peruano News
Paper)
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