|
|
|
|
| Sunday, 19 June 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Business |
 |
|
News Business Features
Editorial
|
e-Society progam to boost awareness in rural areas by Hiran H. Senewiratne The government will increase the e-literacy and ICT awareness level in rural areas through the e-Society program, which was launched last week. The objective of this program is to reduce poverty and uplift the livelihood of the rural community in the country, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse said. It was organised by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA). "Sri Lanka's ICT literacy rate is less than 10 per cent, which needs to be increased to be on par with other developed nations in the world, the Premier said. The program was initiated under the patronage of a World Bank grant of US $ 3 million. He said that despite having a 90 per cent literacy rate in the country due to free education it is not possible to move forward the country with a less IT awareness level to face today's economic challenges. The Prime Minister said that the government intends to administer the country with the use of IT to deliver an efficient and effective service to the public. Under this program the e-Society Fund will be set up. The overall goal of the e-Society Fund is to facilitate access to ICT among the most vulnerable groups in Sri Lanka and ensure that the benefits of ICT development flows to these groups, he said. It is characterised by a "bottom up approach" where the vulnerable groups will be made aware of ICT and the range of benefits which ICT may bring to their lives, he said. IT will be included in the school curriculum to increase the IT literacy rate and the ICT awareness level especially in rural schools to strengthen the capacity of the rural community, he said. At present more than 2,000 schools are teaching IT in the country and the government will introduce IT in the school curriculum to increase the IT literacy among the rural youth in the country. The IT literacy rate and awareness level on ICT would also be further increased with the launch of this program, he said. Minister of Science and Technology Tissa Vitharana said that Sri Lanka has to go a long way to bridge the digital gap. Certain developing countries have achieved great strides in IT, which help them to improve their economies, while Sri Lanka has to go a long way. The Minister said that his Ministry will increase the ICT awareness level in villages through Divisional Secretariats. The Ministry is now in the process of establishing resource centres at
rural level to increase the IT access and connectivity, he said. ICTA MD/CEO
Manju Haththotuwa said that their organisation is working towards reducing
the rural poverty level with the use of ICT in the country. |
|
|||||||||
|
| News
| Business |
Features |
Editorial | Security | Produced by Lake House |
