Church Teachers’ College gets $12m smart lab

Digicel Foundation has handed over a US$80,000 ($12.4 million) smart lab to Church Teachers’ College in Mandeville, Manchester, as part of efforts to strengthen teacher preparation.

Assistant chief education officer in the Tertiary Unit of the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr Tamika Benjamin, described the initiative as a strategic and visionary investment in Jamaica’s human capital.

“Today marks more than the unveiling of a physical space. It represents [a] strategic investment in Jamaica’s future … an investment in teacher education, an investment in our students, and in the continued transformation of education in our rapidly evolving digital space,” she said.

Speaking at Tuesday’s handover ceremony, Benjamin emphasised that meaningful and sustainable school transformation must begin with teacher preparation.

She noted that while Digicel Foundation had established smart labs at primary and secondary institutions, its extension into teacher-training colleges demonstrates foresight.

“Teachers remain the single-most-important school-based factor influencing student achievement … and the quality of our education system cannot exceed the quality of the teachers we prepare,” Benjamin stated.

She underscored the national responsibility of teacher-training institutions to produce graduates who are not only strong in pedagogy and content knowledge, but also digitally competent, innovative, and responsive to the needs of modern learners.

According to Benjamin, the smart lab will provide teachers at the college with the opportunity to develop information and communications technology (ICT) competencies essential for designing engaging lessons, integrating digital tools to support differentiated instruction, and preparing students to thrive in an increasingly technological society.

She commended Digicel Foundation for its continued partnership and leadership, describing the collaboration between the private sector and the education system as a powerful example of what is possible when organisations operate with shared purpose and vision.

For his part, principal of Church Teachers’ College, Dr Garth Anderson, described the opening as a historic moment for the institution and a significant step forward in advancing educational innovation and digital transformation.

He noted that the lab will be embedded across teaching and learning activities rather than operating as a stand-alone resource, ensuring its sustained use and impact.

“It is for the advancement and development of all of us who work and learn here, so that we can prepare for a more productive and wholesome society. We can’t run from this technology. We have to run into it and find better ways of engaging it,” Anderson said.

CEO of Digicel Foundation, Charmaine Daniels, said the lab forms part of a broader national strategy to expand digital access and build technological confidence among educators.

She noted that the foundation’s team had been travelling weekly to communities and schools, particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, and consistently observed the resilience and commitment of teachers.

“Despite the conditions of classrooms… and the damage to your own homes… you showed up for your students… and for Jamaica’s future,” Daniels said.

She underscored that digital literacy is now a core competency, adding, ‘In my day, literacy meant whether you could read and write … Today, literacy is whether you are digitally literate,’ while pointing out that many everyday services, including banking and communication, are now technology-driven.

The smart lab is equipped not only with computers, but also with integrated software, global lesson-plan resources, and interactive tools, such as a Mimio smart board. She added that the facility includes two years of complimentary Internet access.