Above: the signing ceremony in Nassau

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The government of the Bahamas has signed a partnership agreement with Microsoft on education technology.

The Microsoft Partners in Learning Education Transformation Agreement is a “significant milestone” in the development of education, according to Jerome Fitzgerald, the Bahamas’ Minister of Education, Science and Technology.

He said it would allow the Ministry to forge ahead with its goal of “ensuring that teachers and students in The Bahamas are immersed in technology enriched learning environments.”

The agreement was signed at the end of May by Nicole Campbell, Permanent Secretary, and George Corbin, Microsoft Territory Manager at the Ministry of Education.

The partnership includes projects to help the Ministry increase “digital inclusion” of all students in the Bahamas, provides technical assistance to refine the Ministry’e “e-Strategy” guiding ICT initiatives and provides an email platform for all teachers and students in the public education system, among other features.

The agreement will also allow 1,500 teachers and 22,000 students the ability to download Microsoft Suite programmes on up to five devices.

Fitzgerald said the government said it was pushing to create an educational system that was “technologically sound” and “competitive.”

“We have implemented a very aggressive and diverse professional development framework to ensure that teachers are able to teach effectively in an increasingly ICT-enriched environment,” he said.