Sri Lanka Towards an ICT enabled nation

The pearl of the Indian Ocean, the fastest growing economy of South Asia, Sri Lanka has undoubtedly positioned itself as the emerging wonder of Asia. It is now the futuristic decisions, the optimistic approach towards capitalizing on opportunities that will set the way forward in achieving the vision of becoming a developed nation. With the dawn of peace Sri Lanka has opened itself a range of opportunities in the global economic lines. Especially the tourism industry of the country has shown promising growth in the last year attracting a record number of six hundred thousand visitors to the country.

We strongly believe as a developing nation, we should set our site on positioning ourselves in the global knowledge based economy which is set to boom in the next years to come. Having identified our opportunities, under the correct leadership and guidance from the nation’s leadership Sri Lanka has heavily invested in developing the ICT infrastructure of the country. The development and the dissemination of the infrastructure and the programmes have been given equal opportunities in all parts of the island.

The use of ICT in its role as an enabler of the country will have its direct impact on the education sector. Also its role on the service sector will have its impact on the overall productivity of the nation as well as exploiting business opportunities in the ICT industry will promote GDP of the country by attracting multinational investments towards the country.

Setting up of ICT facilities in developing the ICT literacy at the grass roots of the country has immensely contributed towards uplifting the overall ICT levels, the use of ICT as a tool in education has promoted conventional teaching to the next level. It is evident that the usage of ICT in the primary and the secondary educational levels has created an enormous growth in students seeking higher education opportunities in the ICT sectors. Presently the government and specially the private sector higher education opportunities to students have created a new ICT enabled generation in the country. From the e-villages in the rural villages in the island to the city campuses in the capital city is on full gear in meeting the demands of the employment market.

Maintaining a deficit of over 3500 graduates a year, there are ample opportunities and room for job oriented programmes, which is set to create the demanded industry professional. Having the second largest software provider to the world as the closest neighbor, Sri Lanka needs a focused ICT education sector in meeting the global challenges. A focused project plan which gives the opportunity for school leavers to enter into higher education in the field of ICT will be crucial. Career guidance to these students in providing the right direction in enabling us to invest the on them will be an investment for future. Developing ICT professionals for the Software, Web, Multimedia industry, also professionally qualified individuals to be positioned in the BPO sector should be our areas of focus.

Sri Lanka in the last decade has imparted ICT, which has improved the overall productivity of the conventional public administration system. The introduction of ICT in the education sector has created positive growth. Another area that will have a positive impact with the introduction of the ICT is the service sector. Already the introduction of ICT into the public sector is undertaken by the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka. Having the opportunity to access information from home, the “Nanasala” satellite centers providing the ICT facilities from five hundred plus locations has created the opportunity to access ICT enabled services to anyone wishing access. Also the automated District secretariat services in the future are set to change the way we think and work.

Having already stepped in the right direction in creating the environment for a knowledgebase economy, Sri Lanka is presently the destination for several multinational giants of the ICT industry. Encouraging these ventures to invest in setting up facilities outside the capital city would be a definite opportunity in developing the provincial economies. Also this would have an impact on the dissemination of the economical opportunities and growth benefits to all corners of the island.  The development of employment opportunities for youth in the country will create the climate to reduce brain drain and create the climate for inventions and innovations. With the development of the ICT infrastructure in the country another avenue of focus should be the development of the BPO sector. Having set high standards in the English language and the overall ICT literacy growth will be positive contributors for the development of the BPO sector.

Sri Lanka to be an ICT enabled Nation and to reap benefits of the development of the ICT sector the core area of concern should be the ICT Education sector in increasing literacy and employability. Also imparting ICT in the service sector will improve the overall productivity of our administration system. Having set the basics on right direction furthermore Sri Lanka should collectively work with the private sector for attracting ICT related investments to the country from multinationals.

High productivity of the administration, committed development of the higher education sector and encouraging investments in the ICT related sector will be the decisive in positioning ourselves as an ICT enabled nation by 2020.