ICTA’s ‘e-diriya’ IT Centre opens in Kegalle

The fourth IT centre of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) ‘e-diriya’, being set up in each Province, was declared open in the Sabaragamuwa Province recently. Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister and Sabaragamuwa Province Chief Minister Mahipala Herath jointly declared open the province-level centre at the Zonal Education office in Kegalle recently.

Speaking on the occasion Telecommunication and IT Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya emphasised that, while general development of the country was taking place, improvement was also seen in information and technology sectors. “ICT has the special characteristic of leveraging development by leapfrogging from unnecessary and tedious traditional stages without losing any good values in the process. The IT centre will greatly empower the public service personnel of the Province.”

Minister also underlined: “When those who provide public service are being empowered, the people will be served better. The centre will also go a long way in improving the employability level of school leavers and those who could not proceed their studies in a university. The centre will be a great boon to the unemployed graduates in gaining employment. The number of graduates to whom the Government has provided employment is around 52,000, which is a record.”

Delivering his address on the occasion, Mahipals Herath said: “Thanks to President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s far-sightedness, in declaring year 2009 the year of English and IT, the Sabaragamuwa Province has today made great strides. The efforts made by the Sabaragamuwa Province, by taking the declaration seriously and working on a well planned program has produced remarkable results. Improvements have been made in the so-called difficult areas of Sabaragamuwa to such an extent, that the schools therein are not second to top schools in Colombo. The percentage of good results at public examinations in the schools in these areas, are on a par with that in the prestigious schools in Colombo like Ananda and Nalanda.”   

Expressing his views on the IT centre, ICTA Chairman and Peradeniya University Chancellor who is also a Senior Presidential Advisor Prof. P.W. Epashinghe said: “A few years ago, ICT was the prerogative of the elite. Thanks to the epoch-making, wise and farsighted decision President Mahinda Rajapaksa made about a decade ago, is yielding people-friendly results. This decision became specially accentuated   from the time Rajapaksa became Prime Minister in April 2004. ICT has now become a facility widely used by even the very poor.”

The professor also added that: “The guidance of the President in this regard, brought about this innovation of making the dividends of ICT reach all. Hardware and software to make public services go digital are futile if the staff concerned are not trained to use these facilities with great ease. The IT centre is specially geared to provide this training to the Provincial Government employees. At the same time the centre will provide basic ICT training to the residents of the area, especially those who are of the low income strata.”

The first ICTA-initiated Provincial level IT centre was set up in the North Central Province, while the second one was launched in the Northern Province. The third province to have the privilege of having the IT centre was the Eastern Province.