The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Exim Bank) has completed the KSP-ADB Joint Consulting Program for establishment of an ICT hub for secondary education project.

The dissemination seminar was held on July 26 at the Ministry of Education under the       Chairmanship of Secretary Sunil Hettiarachchi during which the Korean consultant team presented the final results of the study to the government officials.

The proposed project covers an island wide plan targeting national, provincial and zonal level ICT education. National Content Development Center (NCDC) and 2 PICTECs (Provincial ICT Education Centers) in Eastern and Southern provinces will be newly built, and 5 PICTECs and 99 ZICTECs (Zonal ICT Education Centers) will be fully equipped with education materials, network system, office equipment etc.

In addition, to make the ICT hub more sustainable capacity building programs for government officials and consultation on content development and e-Learning will be provided.

Today the urban population of Sri Lanka records a computer literacy level of 39.2% while computer literacy in rural areas and estates are at a considerably lower 25.5% and 9% respectively.

This phenomenon has become a hindrance to realizing Sri Lanka’s development priority of moving towards a digital economy. In this context, when completed this project will provide not only a strong foundation to realize a digital economy and a knowledge based society but also ICT savvy labour force for labour market to boost Sri Lankan economy.