Via LOOP Jamaica

Sagicor Foundation and Sagicor Bank have pledged to support 30,000 students to access study material on e-learning platform EduFocal, as they prepare for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination.

This comes on the heels of the government’s announcement of the temporary closure of schools until the end of the Easter term, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Sagicor will contribute a total of $5 million to give students free access to the platform until the end of the term.

“Sagicor Foundation is committed to the education of our nation’s youth. This sponsorship is an effort to ensure that our children’s education is not disrupted as they prepare for a life-changing examination. We also understand that this may be a difficult time for the parents and want to do our part to offset what would be an additional expense for them,” R Danny Williams, Chairman, Sagicor Foundation said.

The foundation’s support will cover access to the Edufocal platform for children in grades four to six and will allow them to access live classes from Monday to Friday during the outlined period.

Additionally, Sagicor Bank will open Star Savers accounts for 1,000 deserving students who utilize the platform.  Launched last December, Star Savers is the financial institution’s deposit account aimed at encouraging saving among children.

“As a financial conglomerate, this is a way for us at Sagicor to further add value to the experience of the students and ensure that we instil a habit of saving in our youth,” Williams noted.

Gordon Swaby, CEO and co-founder for EduFocal Limited, expressed thanks to Sagicor and other local companies which have come forward to support the students’ education.

“Sagicor's support of EduFocal’s move to assist parents and PEP students at this time is indicative of the importance of youth development. Our mandates are similar in this regard and collaborations such as these can only make Jamaicans stronger together as we work to get through this pandemic,” Swaby said.

He noted that more than 60,000 students are expected to use the platform during April. Swaby, in a recent article, said the platform has seen an uptick in usage since March 13, when schools islandwide were closed for 14 days and the organization offered its services to the public free of charge.

For more information about the Sagicor Foundation, click the link below: