Computer based education to be
introduced islandwide
by Ananda KANNANGARA
Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said last week that the
introduction of computer based education, currently practised in many
developed countries will be introduced shortly into the education system
in Sri Lanka for the benefit of 4.3 million school children.
Minister Premajayantha told the Junior Observer the introduction of
the digital system education, will come into force in the middle of this
year, and children in remote and rural schools too will be able to
follow globally valued educational programmes. "He also pointed that the
gap between school children in the North and South in our country could
also be bridged with the introduction of computer based education".
Referring to the education system in Australia where a large number
of Sri Lankan students are currently pursuing higher studies, the
Minister said the entire education system in Australia is conducted
under the digital system, and students, even in distant provinces, could
keep close links with their educational activities.
He said to make this computer based system of education a success,
the Education Department has taken steps to equip all schools with
modern Information Technology Centres.
"As the initial step of this programme, we have planned to distribute
computers to nearly 1000 remote and rural schools before the end of this
year," he added.
He said all urban schools in the country including Colombo, Galle,
Ratnapura, Matara, Kandy and Jaffna are currently having IT centres and
computer facilities.
The Minister thanked private sector institutions for extending a
helping hand to provide IT centres in schools.
Tomorrow is Ides of March
There are warnings of danger associated with the Ides of March which
falls on March 15, mainly because Julius Caesar was assassinated in 709
AUC or 44 B.C. The Ides of March. which is Idus Martias in Latin is the
name of March 15 in the Roman calendar.
The term Ides was used for the 15th day of March, May, July, and
October. It was a festive day, which was dedicated to the god Mars and a
military parade was usually held.
In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Caesar is warned to
"beware the Ides of March."It should be noted, however, at the time of
Julius Caesar's assassination, the Ides of March referred to March
13.The term ids (ides) originally referred to the day of the full moon.
The Romans considered this an auspicious day in their calendar. The
word ides comes from Latin, meaning "half division" (of a month) but is
probably of non-Indo-European origin.
Sri Lankan students to compete in
Intel ISEF in USA
by Rohan MATHES
Three selected students from the Sri Lankan school-going fraternity
will compete at the prestigious 2010 Intel International Science and
Engineering Fair (ISEF), to be held in San Jose California, in the
United States, in May this year. The Intel ISEF Fair is presumed to be
the world's largest pre-college science fair and competition, where the
participating students are extended an opportunity to explore, discover
and innovate at a global level.
The contestants with the officials |
It encourages, promotes and provides a platform for students to
engage in challenging scientific questioning, using authentic research
practices and create solutions to the problems of the future.
Over 1,500 young scientists from over 50 countries are expected to
compete for more than USD four million in scholarships and prizes at the
competition, in which over 1000 science, engineering and industry
professionals voluntarily take part to judge the projects.
At the inaugural ceremony of the Sri Lanka Science and Engineering
Fair 2010, held at the Wimalasurendra Auditorium of the Institution of
Engineers, Sri Lanka, (IESL) recently, eleven participants selected by
the National Science Foundation (NSF) and ten winners of the Junior
Inventor of the Year 2009 competition of the IESL, displayed their
projects and entered the fray to vie for the Grand Fair in San Jose,
USA.
The ceremony was organised jointly by the Institution of Engineers,
Sri Lanka (IESL), National Science Foundation (NSF) and INTEL Sri Lanka,
in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Addressing the
ceremony, the Director NSF Sarath Abayawardana said that in a world
developing rapidly on the basis of a knowledge-based economy, a
competition of this nature will undoubtedly enhance and encourage
scientific discovery and innovation in the psyches of our school-going
community. It would certainly form an integral part of their broader
programme and objective of taking scientific know-how and thinking to
the masses.
Chairman of the Advisory Board to the Science Popularisation Division
of the NSF and UGC Vice Chancellor Prof. M.T.M. Jiffry opined that this
laudable joint venture will contribute immensely in the nation's quest
to identify the appropriate human resources, enhance and fine-tune the
students talents and abilities at a national and international level.
Country Manager Intel Sri Lanka, Indika De Zoyza briefly outlining the
processes of the competition said that three winners selected from the
21 participants at the SLSEF Fair -2010, would represent Sri Lanka, at
the world's largest pre-college science fair competition, in San Jose,
USA.
"This competition would symbolise the mini Nobel-Prize's competition
for school-children' he said.
The President of the IESL Eng. (Dr.) Dharmasiri De Alwis pointing out
that scientific knowledge was like a double-edged sword which could be
utilised for both the detriment and the prosperity of mankind, said that
a competition of this nature would certainly steer our children towards
the latter.The Chairman of the JIY competition of the IESL, Eng. J.
Meegoda requested the school-going fraternity to reap the optimum
benefits from this magnanimous project which has been organised jointly
by the relevant institutions, despite their slightly divergent
objectives.
He appealed to the students to refrain from conceiving any type of
doubt or ill-feeling, pertaining to the adjudication processes, which
are well managed by fully competent, eminent and just professionals of
the land. |