On Friday, September 6, 2019, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Digi as part of an initiative called “DigiLearn”, one of Digi’s most ambitious projects to date. This non-profit project is a partnership with MoE to create a Digital Learning platform for high schoolers and exists to enhance learning and teaching throughout schools in Belize through unlimited access to technology. The program incorporates the use of individual laptops, tablets, learning software, and a 500- megabyte internet connection for selected schools. The pilot project was carried out in nine schools and due to its success, it will be carried out countrywide.
The signing of the agreement now puts the project in its operational phase, a feat the outgoing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rochus Schreiber, says is historic. He says that Digi Learn will transform Belize because an investment is being made in the future of Belize, the high schoolers. “They are the ones who will create the future. The teachers, principals, the ministry, the private sector-we are just guardians. We are kind of the custodians of the future, but they are the future. They will create whatever comes.”
Minister of Education, Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber signed the agreement along with CEO Schreiber. DPM Faber has said that the pilot phase of the program has prompted excitement in students and an increased level of attendance in schools. As such, the Ministry is excited to see what further benefits can be attained. “That’s a wonderful thing when we can get your children excited in an environment where we’ve lost their attention pretty much. We need to do whatever we can do to keep their attention and keep them longer in school.”
Ultimately, the project brings together thousands of students and gives them access to the world while focusing on the cultivation of an innovative economy for education technology start-ups and entrepreneurs.
