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Oct 18, 2011 News
…Nadir says community service would be “humane”
The first batch of netbooks being procured under the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project is expected to arrive in Guyana on October 24. They would be ready for distribution by the end of the month, Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir, said yesterday.
With the netbooks becoming available for distribution, the OLPF office would be looking to decide on what mandatory community service recipients of the netbooks will have to agree to.
“We would not be giving people brooms and pitchfork to go and work,” Nadir told Kaieteur News. “I assure you it will be something humane.”
One of the earlier project plans spoke of “communities getting cleaner streets, parks and painted schools” while students are earning computers.
It was envisaged that those who lose their laptops will have to pay US$400 or engage in community service as a penalty.
According to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was drafted for recipients to sign on collecting the laptops, all adult users were expected to take part in and successfully complete “Community Engagement” to the project.
The community service, intended to support social and community development, will be managed through a facility managed by the government.
Nadir said that the OLPF project office is still looking at “protocols” that could be used in determining community service for the project.
With the netbooks yet to arrive, Nadir said that an estimated 30 learning hubs would be set up within two weeks. These would be used to provide training for the recipients. An estimated 200 of these learning hubs would be established, Nadir said, and recipients would be expected to undergo ten hours of training.
On September 16, Chinese appliances manufacturer, Haier, signed a contract with the Guyana government to provide the netbooks under the first phase of the project.
The company is being paid US$7.6 million to supply 27,000 netbooks. The OLPF envisages distributing 90,000 laptops within two to three years. The project targets low-income families and vulnerable groups.
The government has set aside $1.8 billion in this year’s budget for the project.
Haier has said it would set up a local office and a local call centre to which persons can call and get on to a Guyana service engineer.
The company is providing an 18-month warranty on the instruments it will provide – six months more than what the government had asked.
Among the netbook specifications are: 2.0GB memory; a display screen of 10.1 inches; camera of 0.3 megapixels; two USB 2.0 ports; 1 RJ-45; headphones; microphones, card reader: MMC/SD Video Adaptor; Integrated Video with an operating system of a minimum Genuine Windows 7 Starter English (OEM).
It will also include a minimum two hours of battery operational life and has the capacity to handle wireless data.
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