 Educational services to the population of special school learners require alternative resources and inputs to effect adequate learning and learner development as the services required are significantly different from that of the general student population. Differences exist in the functional abilities of students, their impairment status, and the curriculum to be accessed. The assistive devices handed over at a ceremony held Monday according to Education Officer for Special Education Dale Sergis will assist special education centres on the island in addressing issues including student assessment for special education needs, student mobility, hearing impairment, speech impairments, disorders along the autism spectrum, accessibility to learning resources, rehabilitation of impaired functions, and the ability to better control and interact with their human and physical environment. So they need stimulation, they need therapy, they need sensory regulation. These are not issues that can be resolved by a teacher standing in front of a classroom or by a laptop and a screen. So it is very important for us that we have these devices to support the targeted needs of these children. The assistive devices were supplied by the Education Quality Improvement Project, equipped of the Department of Education, Innovation and Vocational Training with support from the Caribbean Development Bank. Project coordinator of Equip Marie-Grace O'Gees says the idea to procure the assistive devices came from a fact-finding mission undertaken in 2019 at two special ed centres in Trinidad and Tobago by special education personnel to witness firsthand the practices that made those two facilities successful at providing care to their TNT clientele with special needs. The collective objective was to observe and to assess facilities, programmes, services, and to select best practices that could be assimilated into or adapted to the St. Lucian context. In the interest of developing an education sector that is more inclusive of special eds, special needs education and that is student focused. The special education sector has applauded the efforts of the Equip team in not just providing the assistive devices but to develop a pilot project that will test the use of the devices at two local institutions which provide support to children with special needs. It's wonderful to give everyone the same thing but that does not necessarily scratch weight itches. And so what Equip is doing is really putting the fingernails where the itches are and giving us that satisfying scratch and showing that our children with special needs have their unique and targeted needs addressed. Chief Education Officer Cyrus Sipal says government is steadfastly committed to the transformation of St. Lucian's education sector so that it is more inclusive and responsive to the needs of students, teachers, parents, and the wider society. We are at education. We will continue to support the holistic development of every child. And when I say every child, I mean those who need the attention and those probably who already excel in and they just need now that extra support that they will continue to excel. There is a philosophy that I subscribe to very much. If the child does not learn the way that you are teaching him or her, teach him or her the way that he or she will learn. And this is what we are seeing here. The pilot phase of the project will be undertaken at two special needs centers including the Lady Gordon Opportunity Center and the Sufra Special Ed Center. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology, and Vocational Training, I am Chris Satney reporting.