Azim Ghani (Borneo Bulletin)

IN AN effort to “connect” more students and youths to the information superhighway and boosting their capabilities the field of Information Communications Technology (ICT), DST Group and Ericsson have forged an alliance to provide Internet connections for some 4,000 students from four different schools in Brunei Darussalam.

Tanjong Kindana Primary School, Berakas Secondary School, Pengiran Jaya Negara Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar Secondary School and Sayyidina Othman Secondary School were selected by the Ministry of Education to be part of this pioneer programme.

The Bulletin understands that this mega project is in line with the Ministry of Education’s system that aims to equip students with the necessary skills to compete in the new economy namely the “Internet economy”.
The four selected schools will be provided with fixed wireless terminals, high-speed data SIM cards and laptops.

DST Group’s Development Officer, Haji Marsad Haji Ismail, is confident that this project will be a success, as he strongly believes that education should not be limited to the classroom.

Through the use of the Internet, students will be able to broaden their minds, he said, adding that this would also improve the quality of students in this challenging world.

Commenting on the effectiveness of connecting more students to the World Wide Web, the Manager and President of Ericsson for Brunei and Singapore, Fadi Pharaon, said the project will increase the capabilities of “communicating with the whole world”.

More importantly, it will provide swift access to information for students and teachers in the “cyber age”, he added.

The guest of honour, Datin Paduka Apsah Hj Abdul Majid, the Permanent Secretary (Core Education) at the Ministry of Education, who officiated the programme during a ceremony at Sayyidina Othman Secondary School in Tutong yesterday, handed over fixed wireless terminals to representatives of the four selected schools.