200 schools received digital equipment under a grant assistance project by the Government of India

President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the gathering 

Digital equipment was handed over to several schools in the Southern Province by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha on July 6. The equipment was distributed under a grant assistance project by Government of India (GoI) for the establishment of 200 Smart Classrooms in Southern Province.

A press release issued by the High Commission of India said the event was held in Galle and was attended by dignitaries including Minister of Education Dr. Susil Premajayantha and Minister of Health Dr. Ramesh Pathirana.

The project aims at equipping 200 schools in the Southern Province with necessary digital tools that would enable them to benefit from digital resources and materials across the globe, the statement added.

Speaking on the occasion, Wickremesinghe had thanked the GoI and Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the multi-pronged support to Sri Lanka in the education domain.

High Commissioner Jha had underlined that India has witnessed major technological advancements in the education sphere in recent years and added the GoI is committed to the benefits from such advancements to the students and teachers in Sri Lanka. He noted that GoI carries out several human-centric projects in Southern Province and specifically mentioned that more than 1300 houses are currently being constructed by GoI for homeless families in the three Districts of the Province, the press release further read.  

Establishment of Smart Classrooms in Southern Province is being implemented under the bilateral High Impact Community Development Project framework. Eighteen grant projects cutting across sectors are being carried out under this framework in all 25 Districts of Sri Lanka. The value of these projects stand at around SLR 5.5 billion, the statement said.

(From left) Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha, President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister of Health Dr. Ramesh Pathirana at the event