Local Information Techno-logy (IT) experts are divided over whether netbooks are the ideal instruments to be distributed to 90,000 poor families under the One Laptop per Family (OLFP) initiative.
The first instruments distributed under the project were netbooks, which were gifts from the Chinese firm Huawei. President Bharrat Jagdeo has since disclosed that the government will be procuring netbooks for the project.
Netbooks are smaller than laptops; with smaller keyboards and screens. They are lightweight and do not have optical drives, hence they do not play CDs or DVDs. Although netbooks provide all the basic functionality of laptops, they do not support some other important features and have limited use because of restricted battery size, processing power and storage space.
While some IT personnel see netbooks as adequate to fulfil the objectives of the project, which has, among other things, been touted as one to improve computer literacy and provide educational opportunities for disadvantaged children, others are less convinced.
When questioned recently about the capacity of netbooks to fulfil the objectives of the project, Jagdeo said that they would be adequate. “We think that this [the outlined specifications] is adequate to deliver what we want to deliver… the content that we want to deliver,” Jagdeo said.
According to the latest draft project plan: “Low cost full-feature netbooks provide the opportunity to use a commercially available computer that is already popular in Guyana, as the foundation for the OLPF project.” It said too that “the use of commercial technology brings Guyana current with existing technology used around the world. The netbooks are already popular and supported in Guyana by individuals, government and private sector.
“A full function computer ensures that every member of the family can use and benefit from a laptop project.”
Commercial computers, the document says, also allow individuals to upgrade their OLPF computer to add functionality and additional capacity.
According to the document, “The OLPF project is about making computers and internet accessible to Guyanese families to propel themselves and the country into the information age. “
It adds: “The goal is simply not computers in every home, the goal is economic development, a competitive workforce and businesses able to transact globally via the e-commerce digital infrastructure”.
One IT professional, who declined to be named, said that netbooks are a cheaper alternative to laptops and could do the job. According to him, while the absence of CD or DVD drives could be seen as a setback, this can be countered once internet access is provided. The professional hailed the OLPF initiative as a good one but expressed concerns at the lack of transparency of certain elements of the project so far.
Other persons in the IT field share the view that the netbooks provide a cheaper alternative but said their effectiveness would be determined by what exactly the instruments would be used for.
IT professional and human rights activist Vidyaratha Kissoon, however, has suggested some flexibility in the instruments being distributed given the nature of the project. Kissoon has suggested changing the name of the project from ‘One Laptop per Family’ to ‘One Computer per Family’, so that it allows the families the choice to determine what kind of computer they want and at what price.
Responding to some questions asked by Stabroek News, Kissoon, writing on his blog http://churchroadman.blogspot.com, pointed to one letter writer who mentioned that the government could have stimulated the local IT hardware services industry by insisting that the desktops are assembled locally to an appropriate standard thereby providing employment.
“Of course desktops require a supply of reliable electricity so the price of ownership increases. However, if as in some reports of the launch, it was reported that community organisations could be involved in hosting the computers, then the government could still consider using desktops in those environments where the organisations could host them.”
Referring to the Education Minister Shaik Baksh’s budget presentation in the National Assembly when he said that the laptops will help to enhance the delivery of education to youths and adults, Kissoon questioned whether the education software being produced by the ministry is compatible with netbooks.
“Some education software might require computer specifications which the netbook cannot provide. If the ministry intended to deliver their programmes on CDs and DVDs (common practice in many parts of the world where internet is not readily available or accessible) then netbooks would not be useful,” he said. “There is no feedback from NCERD as to what kind of applications they are developing or purchasing so as to meet the Ministry of Education’s vision for the use of the computers.”
When Stabroek News contacted Indar Singh, the Head of the Education Ministry’s IT section, he said that recently the ministry had developed special software and also acquired package software to help in the delivery of education. He identified one programme ‘Success Maker’ that is intended to help primary school students improve their literacy and numeracy.
Answers to questions sent via email regarding other aspects of the project, were still outstanding up to press time. It is unclear as to whether the Ministry of Education has been collaborating with the Project Management Unit of the OLPF on the project.
Kissoon also expressed other concerns which may affect a child’s learning ability. “I had noted that many children continue to go hungry and this affects their education and ability to learn… this issue is being dealt with through a school feeding programme, but if children are not accessing the programme for whatever reason, then how will the laptop project benefit them and their families?” he wrote on the blog.
Further, he questioned who will be paying for the internet services for these computers. “Who will be paying for the Wimax or other Internet bandwidth services after it is laid down? Would it be taxpayers? So should that $1.8 billion be expanded?” he queried.
Meanwhile, Kissoon said the President’s desire to help the poor is commendable but added that “it is unfortunate that the President seems to think that criticisms and feedback on the piece by piece public revelations about the project are attempts to kill the idea.”
The OLPF has come under immense scrutiny, especially in recent weeks, after Minister within the Ministry of Finance Jennifer Webster stated in the National Assembly that the instruments were being purchased via a procurement process at a unit cost of $295,000. She returned to the House one day later and corrected the figure to US$295 per instrument. This raised further concerns about the wisdom of the project and its transparency.
President Jagdeo subsequently disclosed that the netbooks will be procured via an international competitive tender. The tender document is scheduled to be launched on February 22 and should be open for 30 days. Afterwards, the tenders will be assessed and an award made. The computers are to arrive by May 12, 2011, under the proposed schedule.
