Project DIP 4E Framework: EQUIP
The National Digital Literacy Programme was launched in March 2021 by the Ministry of Education. This is aimed at enabling students to acquire digital skills at different stages of their education journey.
All secondary school students will be equipped with a personal digital learning device by the end of 2021. However, there are a small number of primary school students from low income families who still do not have their own personal laptops.
Students on the Ministry of Education’s financial assistance scheme could get financial help on school fees and other expenses. Through the NEU PC Plus (NPP) Programme offered by the Infocomm Media Development Authority, students from low incomes households have the opportunity to own a computer at an affordable price. But some of them are unable to pay the subsidised cost.
Additionally, the NPP Programme only allows for a second laptop option for families with three or more school-going students. As a result, students from bigger families may not have their personal laptop. There is also a small group of international students from transnational families who could not afford a laptop and are not eligible for a laptop under the NPP Programme.
Equipping each student with a digital device
There is another channel for schools to get laptops for students, to work towards digital inclusiveness. Project D.I.P. works with non-profit organisations to get refurbished laptops for students who are not eligible to get a laptop from the Government schemes.
As part of companies’ technology refresh policy, some companies donate the organisations’ old laptops to non-profit organisations such as Engineering Good and RE-PC. A team of volunteers will refurbish the laptops. Through this partnership between Project D.I.P. and the non-profit organisations, we are able to supply working condition laptops for students to do their home-based learning. We work with schools on the number of laptops needed and coordinate the supply and delivery with our partnering organisations. Equipping students with digital devices thus enables us in other aspects of our 4E framework to promote digital inclusivity, particularly in empowering individuals with digital literacy and elevating IT capacities in the communities.
Besides receiving refurbished laptops from non-profit organisations, Project D.I.P. also receives new laptop sponsorship from other corporate donors.
If you would like to find out more about our initiatives or contribute in providing digital devices to students, please contact us at projectdip@gmail.com.
Read more about our 4E Framework: Equip