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Rural schools connected to ICT in southern Sri Lanka
ITU forges partnerships to connect schools and
communities
Geneva, 3 May 2011
— ITU and the Telecom
Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) have inaugurated a project to connect
25 schools in Akuressa, Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Under the “Connect a
School, Connect a Community” initiative, ICT tools such as computers and
printers as well as Internet connectivity will be provided.
Within the framework of a
public-private-people’s partnership (4Ps) model, telecommunication operators,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and NGOs have joined the project as partners
to assist in providing access to education through ICTs in the rural schools of
Sri Lanka, some of which are located in remote communities. This project aims to
transform these schools into connected community ICT centres. Their long-term
sustainability would provide a vital link to marginalized and vulnerable groups
including children, women, indigenous people, persons with disabilities and
those living in rural, remote and underserved areas of
Sri Lanka.
In addition, Intel plans
to offer training for 62 teachers at 31 schools through the Intel Teach
programme, which helps teachers to be more effective educators. The programme
entails training teachers to integrate technology into their lessons and to
promote problem solving, critical thinking and collaboration skills among their
students.
Appreciating the partnership and assistance extended
by ITU, TRCSL, Intel and ADB, which funded a project to promote ICT education in
rural areas of the island, the Secretary in the Ministry for Education of Sri
Lanka, Mr H.M. Gunasekara said, “This initiative provided our school system with
much needed ICT equipment, know-how and teacher empowerment to reach our
national ICT goals.”
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré noted in
his statement: “This is an important initiative that sets a milestone in driving
ICT access to rural and remote areas of Sri Lanka. It benefits not only
teachers and students but also marginalized and underprivileged communities in
the country. Such public-private-people’s partnerships — or 4Ps — promoting
school-based community ICT centres are an attractive, affordable, and
sustainable step forward in providing digital opportunities for Sri Lanka.” The
message was delivered on behalf of the Secretary-General by the Regional
Director of the ITU Regional Office for Asia-Pacific, Ms Eun-ju Kim.
The Director General of TRCSL, Mr Anusha
Palpita stated, “This school and rural community-oriented ICT project will be
beneficial to the rural sector particularly its schools which in the future can
be expected to play a key role in the penetration of ICT knowledge into the
rural and remote areas of the country.”
Promoting connectivity to enable schools to
serve as community broadband ICT centres involves a series of critical issues,
which must be addressed holistically, such as understanding and implementing
technology, related policy and regulatory frameworks, cost analyses, and access
to end-user equipment. These include low cost computing devices and basic ICT
training for teachers and members of local communities as well as providing a
safe online and physical environment for children, assistive technologies and an
accessible environment for persons with disabilities, and developing and
accessing content for education, among many others.
For more information, please contact:
Sanjay Acharya,
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information,
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Sameer Sharma,
Senior Advisor
ITU Regional Office for Asia
and the Pacific
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