Kingston, Jamaica, August 10, 2022 - EduFocal Limited is ready to further its expedition of bringing digital learning to Jamaicans at all levels of their development through an exclusive digital partnership with the Jamaica Library Service.

The landscape of education has seen tremendous changes in recent times, namely limited access to education for many students who lacked the required tools and resources to access online education during the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. The need for constant innovation and development is embedded in any training and educational programme; as such, strategic collaboration, especially between private and public sector entities, is needed to anticipate areas for growth and development and deal with issues that may arise. In recent times, there has been a myriad of reports of shortages of teachers/trainers worldwide in physical educational locations and forecasts are that the situation will continue to be exacerbated. This emphasizes the need for sustainable digital education to support Jamaican students in the teaching and learning process, without eliminating face-to-face interaction.

EduFocal intends to play its part in planning for the education of the nation’s youth and working to counteract the limitation of accessibility to efficient educational programmes and initiatives, internet connectivity and provision of hybrid learning for students. This exclusive digital partnership will continue EduFocal’s legacy of bringing digital education across Jamaica while acknowledging that some learners require physical hands-on support, which the JLS can provide through its free accessibility to computers and the internet in public and school libraries island-wide. Director General of the JLS, Maureen Thompson reiterated this acknowledgement, “Being cognizant of the diverse information needs of the 21st century learner, the JLS continues to retool and reposition public libraries as focal points for information access and community engagement.”

This partnership between EduFocal and Jamaica Library Service is intended to expand the offerings for access to digital learning in a safe space for communities and students. The JLS will provide the physical space for the students to attend virtual classes accessed through the EduFocal Academy virtual school and other supplementary learning programmes.

CEO of EduFocal, Gordon Swaby stated, “I’m a firm believer in a hybrid learning approach. Despite the need for digital learning, there are and will continue to be a lot of children who simply won’t learn that way. I believe it is important to create an environment that gives them the support they need to excel.” Through this programme, students will not only have access to EduFocal Academy, but also to an EduFocal representative at their public or school library. These specially trained representatives will give one-on-one attention to students to help to break down course material and provide technical support.

The JLS plays a critical role in providing opportunities for educational and professional development to Jamaicans across the island. The JLS network consists of 111 public libraries, 334 mobile library stops and 898 school libraries across (13) parishes. However, due to inadequate resources, some of these facilities require retrofitting as existing aesthetics may not aid in stimulating learning.. Therefore, this partnership will see EduFocal investing in the infrastructural development of libraries across the island. Students will have the opportunity to learn in comfortable, fully equipped public and school libraries.

“The JLS and EduFocal share a similar vision so this partnership is exciting for me. With greater resources our libraries could go a long way in transforming our people and workforce. It is easy to say, ‘The government should!’ but I believe the private sector CAN, and that’s why EduFocal is partnering with our libraries. We will be providing training and development to Jamaicans of all ages through this exclusive partnership.”, Swaby conveyed, hinting at the recent disclosure of an upskilling initiative in partnership with the Transport Authority and the British Caribbean Insurance Company Limited (BCIC) to train and assess over 7000 drivers through these learning centres. EduFocal continues to be committed to improving and making accessible quality education across all industries. This is one step, of many to come, in the transformation of lives that both the JLS and EduFocal have mandated to perform.

EduFocal Limited (EF) is a homegrown Jamaican, Educational Technology (EdTech) Company with entrenched roots in the online learning space. Currently, EduFocal is the largest online learning platform in Jamaica with a reach of more than 400 Jamaican primary and preparatory schools.

EduFocal Academy was launched in September 2020. It began as EduFocal PEP Academy to meet the educational needs of students in grades 4-6 (PEP grades) who were displaced by the Covid-19 pandemic. EduFocal Academy’s classes are hosted entirely online through the EduFocal.com platform in conjunction with Google classroom and Zoom. EduFocal offers a unique experience to each student as it has easy access to learning content on the platform so that students can continuously engage with the PEP curriculum throughout the course of the semester.

For more information, please contact Chelsea Taylor, Operations Director at (876) 588-8135