73-year-old graduates in computer literacy

Some 312 participants, including a 73-year-old woman, on Monday graduated from a computer literacy class hosted by the National Poverty Reduction and Eradication Programmes Coordinating Unit.

Congratulating all the graduates, particularly the elderly woman, Minister of the People and Social Development Christine Newallo-Hosein encouraged people of all ages to take advantage of the free classes which were being held in six telecentres throughout the country. 

Pointing out that the centres cater for people aged four years and up, she encouraged parents who were not computer literate to join the classes so they could monitor their children.

She said almost every child of school age was in possession of a government-issued laptop because a lack of computer access and literacy was a recipe for social and economic exclusion. 

Saying she was very proud of the 73-year-old graduate, she added that adults must be able to monitor the online activities of children, especially on social media sites like Facebook.

“Regrettably, some children practice woefully poor time management and compromise their education as a consequence. Others fall victims to cyber criminals.

She said knowledge of Information and Communication Technology was important because it empowered citizens as parents to monitor their children. 

“This training therefore can have relevance to all citizens regardless of age.”

Between July 2013 when the telecentres were opened and May 2014, she said, some 1,270 citizens had been trained in computer literacy, whereas a further 17,335 accessed the services which include computer facilities, computer literacy training, Internet access for research, photocopying, faxing, scanning and printing among other things.

Also encouraging citizens to take advantage of the classes, Minister in the Ministry Vernella Alleyne-Toppin told the audience at Southern Academy of Performing Arts: “The Government cannot do everything...cannot guarantee equal outcomes for every citizen of T&T. We can, however, work to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities.”

Commending the work of the staff at the telecentres and the unit, Alleyne-Toppin asked graduates to request similar facilities be set-up in Tobago as well.