Lanka to achieve 100% literacy by 2011

Rasika Somarathna

Sri Lanka would achieve 100% literacy by 2011, beating UNESCO's 2015 target for education goals, by enacting proposals in Mahinda Chinthana Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said yesterday, launching technology giant IBM's Kidsmart IT programme which is expected to integrate IT in to the primary education curriculum.

The Kidsmart programme is intended at bringing the latest technology to the door step of the primary education sector, and would give priority to under privileged schools in rural areas, by enacting innovative methods to teach kids to be tech smart.

At a ceremony held yesterday at the Presidential secretariat under the patronage of first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, IBM's Government programme Executive for India Dravida Seetharam handed over the computers worth over Rs.250 million, to be distributed under the supervision of the Education Ministry.

While the colourful young explorer computer centres looks right at home in the schools, the teacher training component of the programme and it's Edmark software are the critical elements that elevate Kidsmart to an effective early learning programme, IBM sources said.

IBM has already donated over 500 machines to the Ministry of Education, Sarvodaya, Colombo Public Library, National child Protection Authority drop in centres and also has trained over 350 teachers on the programme.