Osmond Fennel (left) and Nikki Pommells, project representatives for the Northern Caribbean University's Computer Aid Programme, assess the needs of the computer lab at the Albion Primary School in Mandeville, Manchester, on Monday. - Contributed

Northern Caribbean University (NCU) has once again extended its reach beyond the boundaries of its campuses in an effort to influence change and development at the national level.

The university's 2007-2008 student ambassadors, Mitchum Burnette and Tameka Wilson, have developed a Computer Aid Programme (CAP), geared towards equipping students of primary and preparatory schools in and around Mandeville with a basic knowledge of information technology.

The programme was officially launched at the Albion Primary School in Mandeville on Monday.

Mr. Burnette, along with Orchid Smith, assistant vice-president, student development; Raynor McFarlane, director, social development; and other NCU representatives, treated the students, parents and teachers at that institution to gifts and a meal as they announced future plans for improving the computer literacy levels and developing the information technology pro-gramme at the school.

In outlining the objectives of the project, Mr. Burnette said one of the aims of the programme was "to help students to embrace the future, which is becoming increasingly technologically driven".

He said schools that do not have adequate access to resources and are yet to develop official computer programmes would be given pride of place in the selection process as this timely project is implemented.

Committed to the project

Representatives of Fenn Tech Limited, the chief sponsor of the programme, were on hand to reaffirm the organisation's commitment to the project.

"Fenn Tech is always prepared to make a lasting impact in the community through projects such as CAP and, therefore, we fully embrace this initiative," Osmond Fennel, sales representative of Fenn Tech, said.

Mr. Fennel went on to highlight some of the benefits to be gained by Albion Primary and schools that will participate in the programme in the future, pointing to the upgrading of the computers in their laboratories as one major benefit.

This upgrade will enhance the speed and efficiency of the system and allow for quality usage. Networking all the computers, enabling access to the Internet and other advanced services, as well as the donation of a surge protector are other major benefits that were outlined.

Apart from these special benefits, a team from the university's Information Science Department will also conduct a computer literacy course for students, teachers and selected parents at the respective schools. The course is scheduled to run for no more than six weeks, after which, a certificate will be issued to all participants who pass the required tests.

Albion Primary was hand-picked for the first leg of the programme. However, the next stage of the project will be advertised so that interested schools can submit applications to the CAP executive, which will then choose the school that best fits the criteria.

- Osmond Fennel

Sales representative

Fenn Tech