ICTA’s Nenasalas improve quality of ICT literacy in rural areas

Generally, 50 or 100 children are placed in a room for lectures. Sometimes a single PC is available for the students to see how a PC works, at a distance in most instances - but, often, not even that is available.
Hands-on, practical time is an absolute requirement to obtain a real understanding of IT and the children attending these classes spend money their parents can ill afford (usually, Rs.5,000 or more) to receive a certificate not worth the paper it is prined on.

In rural areas, many Ordinary and Advanced Level students have certificates in information technology (IT) from various training institutions. However, when the same students are actually exposed to a computer, they often have no idea what to do with it. As G.I. Pushpakumara from Ethiliweva, Moneragala puts it, “They have ‘IT’ certificates but they have no knowledge.” (“[IT] Certificates thiyanawa, danumak naa...”)

The Information and ommunication Technology Agency (ICTA) says this lack of knowledge can be traced to how IT training courses in these areas are conducted. Generally, 50 or 100 children are placed in a room for lectures. Sometimes a single PC is available for the students to see how a PC works, at a distance in most instances - but, often, not even that is available.

Hands-on, practical time is an absolute requirement to obtain a real understanding of IT and the children attending these classes spend money their parents can ill afford (usually, Rs.5,000 or more) to receive a certificate not worth the paper it is prined on.

The ICTA’s solution to this problem is a combination of its Nenasalas (rural knowledge centres) which offer computer and Internet services, the Nenasala voucher scheme offering free usage of services at these centres and most importantly, dedicated Nenasala operators drawn from the community who treat the operation of a Nenasala not as a trade but almost a higher calling.

The Nenasalas hold IT training sessions in small batches where each child receives at least half an hour of practical training per session. This training, which costs much less than other courses, leaves the child with a good understanding of computers and technology.

“However, as anyone in IT will tell you, it is the unstructured time where anything can be done with the computer that helps create quality computer literacy,” according to an agency press release.

Children, whose parents may not be able to afford a computer for home use, can, through the Nenasala voucher programme, use a computer in the Nenasala without any charge for a fixed period (1 hour) per day. This lets them, under the supervision of the operator, practice, program and play at whatever they want, and also gives them that easy familiarity with PCs that is the ultimate goal of any ICT literacy programme.