Govt to provide IT centres for 6,000 schools next year

IT education vital to build knowledge economy:

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The role of IT in education is essential in building a knowledge economy and the Government’s objective is to provide IT centres for 6,000 schools by next year. The Education Ministry has already provided IT laboratories for 3,500 schools, Education Minister, Susil Premjayanth told a ceremony to mark the success of the “Year of English and IT at the BMICH yesterday.

He said that a knowledge based society is needed to radically reform conventional schools and the education system that supplied the labour force of the industrial age.

It is widely recognized that the adoption of ICT in education is the most important driving force and the basis to enable educational reforms.

The Government has initiated a project to provide 1,000 IT centres run by solar power for rural schools that do not have access to electricity, he said

Microsoft Sri Lanka’s Country Manager, Sriyan De Silva Wijeratne said that Microsoft supports the Government’s vision to put Sri Lanka on the global IT map, whilst realizing its long term objective of providing skills amongst youth to meet the local and global demands. It believes in transforming education through the use of advanced technology, customized training and strong partnerships by exploring solutions in three interconnected areas, building vibrant educational communities and agile infrastructure, he said

The Government declared 2009 as the ‘Year of English and IT’ and has undertaken a series of activities aimed at expanding the reach of ICT amongst the youth.

‘The Partners in Learning Innovative Teachers and Students Competition” in its fifth consecutive year recognized the exceptional talents of innovative teachers and students islandwide and rewarded them at the National Award Ceremony.