The students of the Welioya Ethawatunuwewa Vidyalaya in the Anuradhapura district were recently gifted with a much looked forward to IT lab and were connected to the worldwide web by Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) as part of its flagship CSR project – ‘CDB Pariganaka Piyasa’.
In consultation with the Ministry of Education, CDB dedicated this Rs. 01Mn state-of-the-art IT lab to the school’s present and future generations at a simple ceremony presided over by CDB’s Executive Director / Chief Credit Officer Sasindra Munasinghe, senior officials of CDB, Principal N.W. Ramanayake, students, parents and well-wishers in Ethawatunuwewa.
The IT lab accommodates 12 students at a sitting. The LAN accessed and networked lab is fully equipped with HP branded computers, LCD monitors, printer, scanner, internet facilities and the required furniture.
“The primary reason for this project is to give less-privileged schools in rural areas fast and easy access to information technology. This way we can launch students into a future which is driven by technological innovation”, CDB’s CCO Sasindra Munasinghe told the students. “We have already connected the students of the Kirindiwela Sangamitta Balika Vidyalaya off Gampaha, Nedigamvila Kanishta Vidyalaya off Thissamaharama and the Navatkuli Maha Vidyalayam off Jaffna. I’m proud to say they are already reaping the benefits of IT skills. These are pre-requisites for modern day success. Knowledge and IT skills are the foundation of every individual’s personal advancement in the sphere of education and employment. It is therefore an area of expertise which should be available to all students in all parts of Sri Lanka”.
Thanking CDB for this donation, Principal of the Ethawatunuwewa Vidyalaya N.W. Ramanayake said that although education today is being driven by technology, his school’s children were deprived of these facilities for a long time. “I proudly say that this gift will undoubtedly help develop IT literacy among our children and thereby help them to respond to challenges confidently. Not only is this a blessing to our school, but also to our entire community. We are deeply grateful to CDB for this initiative and pray that this project goes from strength to strength. This will enable more under privileged communities in our country to benefit from the massive advances made in the field of Information Technology”, he added.
Speaking on behalf of the school’s 269 student population, 14 year old Haseera Janani said, “Now that CDB has given us an IT lab, my classmates and I have a new and exciting world opened to us. We’re thrilled that we have access to greater information. This will help us to further improve our understanding of other subjects as well, thereby making a big difference in our education.”
As part of its national drive to increase IT literacy, CDB plans to carry out more projects of this nature in other parts of the country. This framework is reinforced by CDB’s vision to uplift the living standards of all citizens in Sri Lanka.
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