KIGALI - A local telecom operator, Tigo Rwanda, has entered into partnership with the Ministry of Education to facilitate the rollout of internet access points in the country’s primary schools in the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project

As part of the agreement, Tigo will sponsor the infrastructural development in schools across the country that will include wiring classrooms, installation of wireless LAN with internet access points and neighbouring communities will also benefit.

"The partnership was included in the 2008 Tigo licence bidding deal to support the country’s development and OLPC was among them. We are now implementing the government’s vision of to transform the country into a knowledge-based economy by the year 2020,” said Tigo’s CEO, Marcelo Aleman.

The Ministry of Education will provide Tigo with a list of schools to be connected, according to the agreement.

"We welcome the participation of corporations in the integration of the technology in schools and this MoU will work as a link between schools and Tigo which should go stronger and more diversified,” the Coordinator of OLPC project, Nkubito Bakuramutsa said.

He added that the project has so far distributed 55,000 laptops in 108 schools, and the distribution will continue next year.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Sharon Haba, who was the guest of honour at the signing ceremony, said that internet connection to the OLPC computers will add more value to them.

"Every primary school is supposed to have these laptops but the first supplies were made to schools that have access to the electricity grid,” she added.

OLPC programme was adopted as a key driver towards the creation of a knowledge-based economy.

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