Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka

ICTA well into implementing “Idiri Dekma” including reaching 75% ICT literacy by 2017

Monday, 08 March 2010 10:06

The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) is now well into several projects for implementing the “Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma”. This was possible since the Vision Ahead is an Extended Version of the “Mahinda Vision”.
Among these several projects is the National e-Literacy Project aiming to ensure that 100,000 citizens in the rural community are ICT literate within 18 months. This project is just one of the endeavour ICTA is engaged in to achieve, for example, the goal of the Instant Global Village envisaged in the Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma entailing 75% island-wide ICT literacy by 2017.
During the period from the launch of Mahinda Chintana in November 2005 to that of the Vision Ahead on 11 January 2010 and to date ICTA has implemented a number of programmes aimed at making more and more of the dividends of ICT reach the people especially the poor.

1. Village Awakening

'Nenasala' - 600 ‘Nenasala’ Rural information communication technology centres have been established island-wide.
'e-Society Development Programme' - ICT dividends reaching the people under this two-pronged grant programme in community assistance and partnership assistance include monitoring of price of agricultural produce, empowerment of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, teaching of English to rural children through the internet and provision of internet and email facilities to the visually handicapped, to carry out their businesses, carrying out educational pursuits through the Digital Talking Book (instead of the Braille) and establishing an interactive study system for mastering various subjects under this project in conjunction with the National Institute of Education.

IT-BPO awareness in Jaffna

Thursday, 04 March 2010 13:37

Sri Lanka’s IT agency says those who had not seen a computer and those who had followed the school IT course knew much about IT-BPO after an awareness bulding programme in Jaffna.

The Information Technology Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) programme organised by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) created huge interest among the student population of the North. This was shown by more than 4000 students who participated in the three-day IT-BPO career guidance programme ICTA held at the Jaffna Vembady Girls’ High School the last three days of last month.

Out of the 4,000 odd students from grade 9 to 12 who participated in the programme the girls slightly outnumbered the boys. The overall keen interest of participants showed that IT-BPO as a career on a par with or higher than professions like those of doctor, engineer or accountant was an attractive proposition.

The programme seemed to have targeted the ideal group by focusing on the O/L , who formed 60 per cent of the participants, to pre-final A/L students.

These participants in the career guidance seminar conducted in the auditorium of the Jaffna Vembady Girls’ High School held parallel to the Jaffna Mini Infotel exhibition evinced great enthusiasm. "The students came both from schools in the Jaffna district and from distant places like Vavuniya and Mannar with IDPs among them. Yet they all manifested a remarkable interest. "They were quick to ask questions and raise their hands quickly when invited to offer answers or suggestions" an ICTA official remarked. "The Jaffna Vembady Girls’ High School principal, and the 40 girl guides who served as ushers at the IT-BPO career guidance programme with the senior girl guide and prefects, deserve special plaudits for the support given to make the seminar the great success it was," ICTA sources said.

Around 10,000 Government officers trained by ICTA

Thursday, 25 February 2010 12:02

The Information and Communication Technology Agency(ICTA) had been able to train around 10,000 Government Service officers in 350 public sector institutions in 13 districts by providing skills and competence to manage and administer e-Government projects including Lanka Government Network(LGN) through its ICT HR Capacity Building Program, Program Manager Nalani Senasekera told the Daily News yesterday.
Certain Government institutions such as District Secretariat, Registrar General’s Department and Registrar of Motor Traffic Department have already been able to apply their skills to provide an efficient service to the public. Some institutions are yet to applied of computerized service even after obtaining the training, she added.
She said that 325 Government institutions had been provided with all the necessary computers and accessories by ICTA as an initial step. According to Senasekera ICTA had developed a unique “ICT skills framework” identifying the specific skills needed at different staff levels and categories such as Senior Managers, Project Managers, IT Managers and general staffers under the Capacity Building Program. The framework was developed after extensive consultation with experts from the public sector, private sector as well as partners of the World Bank.
The framework has been modularized having a flexibility to adopt them as they require and address new future needs. ICTA had been engaged in providing skill training for Government organizations and departments in Western Province and fund ICT skill training under the General Skills of the framework covering three modules namely CT Awareness, ICT Foundation and ICT Certificates.