By Faith Edwards
THOUSANDS of Form One students will receive a free laptop in September 2025, and they will be equipped with artificial intelligence tools.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made the announcement during the United National Congress (UNC) Post Cabinet Media Briefing Thursday.
She highlighted the roles of Minister of Education Michael Dowlath, Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath, and Minister of Artificial Intelligence Dominic Smith in driving the initiative.
She said, “We did it before and we can do it again. In 2010, we had made that promise and the new government came in around the same time. They came in May 2010, here we are back in May and we were able to procure the laptops for the students and for the trainers for the teachers in time for the September school term, so we are working, Minister of Education and Minister of Public utilities and our Minister of AI Dominic Smith they are all working together to get this done.”
Persad-Bissessar also outlined plans to incorporate an AI assistant accessible from the laptops, capable of answering everyday questions, ranging from how to obtain a birth certificate to locating the nearest hospital.
She said, “I want to tie an AI component that will be accessible to students from their laptops, which is to say that the students and their parents have access to it and everybody has access to it, we can use it to ask any question, AI questions, simple questions, how can I get a birth certificate, Where is the nearest hospital, where is the nearest Health Center simple questions that can be accessed with the AI.”
“This won’t just be for students… but eventually for all citizens,” she said that it’s about giving people access to reliable information using AI.
Michael Dowlath confirmed that the Cabinet note has been approved for the procurement of laptops and accessories for students who took the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam on April 10. A total of 17,937 students took the exam.
“We are in the process of procuring 18,000 laptops and accessories for our students, who will enter school in the new term. These devices will not be given empty, they will be filled with AI tutors, educational videos and age-appropriate digital content,” Dowlath said.
He added that another Cabinet note was also approved for repairs to 248 schools under the government’s vacation repair programme. Of the 817 schools nationwide, 329 are over 50 years old and require ongoing maintenance.
Dowlath also credited the Ministry of Public Utilities and the National Maintenance Training and Security Company (MTS) for resolving a week-long sewer issue at Chaguanas North Secondary School.
He said, “I want to say that I was very happy to meet with our Minister of Public Utilities and we met with MTS and we spoke about TSTT, and the support TSTT provide, for our laptop program. But especially with MTS, I want to say that we had already quick win, after that meeting that Chaguanas North will be open tomorrow after being closed for sewer issues over the last week and so I want to thank Minister Barry Padarath for that initiative.”
