A special programme titled ‘Mathuparapuraya’’ jointly organized by the Presidential Secretariat, Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd, IDM Institute and the Ministry of Education, with the aim of enhancing the information technology literacy of the children in the country, will be implemented covering all the 25 districts of the country.

The initial introduction of this programme was conducted on October 20 during the launching ceremony of the ‘’Grama Shakthi People’s Movement’’ held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. During this ceremony the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Lanka Mr. Jinesh Hegde presented a special memento to President Maithripala Sirisena marking this initiative.

Under the first phase of this programme which will be implemented throughout 25 administrative districts while giving priority to the rural areas, 1,000 scholarships will be given to students of grade nine and above to follow a 6 month course in information technology. This course will be carried out by IDM Institute, under the monitoring of the Ministry of Education.

After the conclusion of handing over 1,000 scholarships to the students under the first phase it is expected to increase the number of scholarships to be awarded under the second and third phases.