NASSAU, The Bahamas --- The Ministry of Education has spent $2.2 million over the past four months to improve the technological infrastructure of 76 Primary and Secondary Public Schools throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

The upgrades are part of Phase I of the Government's plan to "transform schools into strong, technological centres" through national and international linkages utilising an Information Communications Technology (ICT) Sub-Component.

Government officials say - due to the large investment in the ICT Sub-Component - a Technology Coordination Unit (TCU) has been formed and given oversight of establishing a school instructional technology support structure that will ensure that at least 80 per cent of the ICT hardware is functional at all times.

Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, said the plan was launched as far back as 2004 by after then Minister of Education, Alfred Sears, saw the need then to negotiate a loan with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in order to transform the nation's public schools into "21st century educational centres of excellence."

 "As we reveal the continued strategic plan for the Information Technology Sub-Component of that strategy, we are speaking to the fundamental issues that were identified based on extensive diagnostic research carried out during the Project definition Phase from 2004-2008," Mr. Fitzgerald said."

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