Microsoft Sri Lanka together with the ‘Tharunayata Hetak’ movement will provide 1000 schools with Multi-point computer Labs. These fully equipped MultiPoint labs will enable a classroom of 30 students or more to access a single computer. “With this we can see that students can familiarize themselves with computers from a very early age,” stated Microsoft Country Manager, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyaratne at the launch of the Gamata IT programme recently.
Speaking at the same event, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said, currently the best talent in this country doesn’t come from Colombo, but from the outstations. This venture, Gamata IT will help the children in the rural areas to learn computing skill and they will have a better future. In a recent competition held for designing software the student who won was from Dimbulagala in the Polonnaruwa district. The teacher who was selected as the best information Technology is serving in a school in Mahiyangana. “If the country is to be developed then the village must be developed first. While children in many advanced countries learn computers from the very inception, we have introduced this subject only at Grade 10 level. We hope to introduce this subject from Grade 6 onwards from next year,” he noted.
Singer Sri Lanka CEO Asoka Peiris stated that they had been involved with the ‘Gamata IT’ programme since its inception and witnessed the difference this programme had made in the lives of the people living in the rural areas. As a further step to help in this programme Singer Sri Lanka now offers computer classes at their dealer’ outlets in the outstations.
ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura stated that they were happy to be a part of such a far reaching programme. “This will contribute directly towards the increasing of the IT literacy rate in Sri Lanka. This also is one of the Government’s primary goals in of making Sri Lanka a knowledge hub in the region,” he said. |
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