Govt targets 100% literacy by 2011

by Chanuka Mannapperuma

The Government targets to achieve a 100 percent literacy rate by 2011.

Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha told the IBM Kidsmart IT launch program that the present literacy rate in Sri Lanka is 92 percent and under the Mahinda Chinthana program we are planning to increase it to 100 percent.

He said "we should keep an eye on our children because they are new to the world and their minds are clear". The Minister said that the IBM is helping the children by introducing the Kidsmart IT program.

He said, "there are many children who have not seen a computer in rural areas. The main problem is supply of power. The Ministry together with the Power and Energy Ministry is planning to supply power to rural areas. IBM Program Manager, Sumalka Samaranayeke said the Kidsmart computer program is fully designed for children between three and nine. This system covers the nursery syllabus in English.

She said the machine costs around Rs.500,000 and the objective is to program it in English to improve the knowledge among children. She said that they have already donated 500 computers to the Education Ministry, the Sarvodaya and civil security authorities.