UNIVERSITY of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, campus Principal Clem Sankat, unveiled a US$70 laptop computer that might fulfil the Government’s promise of a laptop to each Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam pupil.
Sankat caused a stir as he unveiled the device measuring about six inches by five inches at the 50th Annual Honours and Awards Ceremony of the Association of Professional Engineers (APETT) at UWI on Saturday night (12 June).
Sankat was addressing APETT after he was honoured as the evening’s Career of Excellence in Engineering Recipient, where he made the point that engineers must seek to change the world for the better.
“I just returned two days ago from Vancouver, British Columbia. I attended a Board meeting of the Commonwealth of Learning (CL), an institution created by Commonwealth prime ministers to support open and distance learning across Commonwealth countries.”
He said the CL was largely supported by India since the time of former Prime Minister, the late Rajiv Gandhi. “To have open and distance learning really succeed, among other things we need technology,” he said, as he recalled lessons he’d learnt from Indian delegates at the recent Board meeting of the Commonwealth of Learning.
“They shared something with me that also has currency in Trinidad and Tobago, about laptops for every SEA student. Well, as we sat around the Board meeting, my Indian colleagues on the Board passed a laptop around the table for us to see. When it came to me, the first thing I did was say ‘I’m going to get my e-mail from UWI.’ And lo and hold, it truly worked, and I got my e-mail.”
He said he was also fascinated by the price of the laptop.
“Seventy dollars! And if we go to buy it in the hundreds and the thousands, fifty dollars! And the Indians said they are working towards a price of US$35.
“So when our Government says a laptop for everyone, let me say others are doing the same thing. They are making it a reality.”
Sankat said even his 14-year-old son was able to access the Internet by pressing a few buttons on the laptop. “So, I say to all of us, if we are creative, we can meet the needs of our people.”
He vowed to share word of the device with the event’s guest speaker Minister of Planning Mary King, and with Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh and Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim.
“We should take it up very quickly,” he urged.
Speaking later to Newsday, Prof Sankat said he was urging engineers to look past the mere items of their profession and instead consider how well they are meeting the needs of people, in a cost- effective manner.
He said: “The laptop fits exactly that message”.
He said the devices are being made in India and China, especially for use in India and Africa. “We need to explore our options, not kill our ideas,” he told Newsday. “The Commonwealth of Learning could give the Government of TT great ideas on how we implement some of these ideas on open and distance learning.”
