Using knowledge of professionals, best way to develop IT

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

Although we formulate policies and provide computer laboratories to schools in remote areas, Information Technology cannot be developed further if content matter wasn't provided said, Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga the Guest of Honour at the e-Swabhimani awards ceremony recently.

He said the best way to develop Information Technology in the country was to use the knowledge, skills and expertise of professionals in the field.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has launched a program to develop Information Technology in all districts in the near future.

The program will be initiated from the least developed district. Weeratunga said he was surprised to learn about the knowledge of computers among schoolchildren in a remote village at Lunugala in the Uva Province. When he inquired how they repaired defective computers, the schoolchildren replied that they need not take them, to Colombo or elsewhere as senior students were quite capable of repairing them.

Referring to India, he said of the billion population, at least one million have access to the Internet despite having 64 languages. "That is one-tenth of their population. We need to work together to ensure that people get broadband facility," he said.

Minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, the Chief Guest, said they have plans to expand Information Technology Services up to 75 percent of the population in the near future. He said only a few young people study Information Technology and steps will be taken to encourage more to study this subject. Rs. 10 billion has been set aside by President Rajapaksa to improve Information Technology in the country.