Sri Lanka’s National Mobile Service Provider, Mobitel and the North Western Provincial Council facilitated the impactful Wayamba School Internet Project in the North Western Provincial Council of Kurunegala on 20th September 2018. This project fulfils the Chief Minister of the North Western, Dharmasiri Dassanayake’s vision of providing internet to schools in the Province. Mobitel’s collaboration helps students from schools in the area to enhance their IT literacy levels for better future prospects through Mobitel’s high speed internet. Commenting on the project, Chief Minister Dharmasiri Dassanayake said “I conceptualised this project to improve Information technology to the North Western Province (Kurunegala and Puttalam District) to bridge the digital divide that exists between rural and urban parts of Sri Lanka.
It is a privilege to have corporate giant Mobitel fulfil the vision to provide internet to schools in the North Western districts, as this will open up a whole new world for the young students. I believe this has the potential to be truly historical as a unique initiative thanks to Mobitel’s extensive coverage and advanced telecommunication infrastructure that will bring internet to these schools. My colleagues at the North Western Provincial Council for their tireless work to see this project in to fruition.” The key benefits for schools from Mobitel is enabling the right environment for better learning outcomes and communities build student-cantered learning environments that are supportive, inclusive and relevant. It also proves to be an affordable and accessible learning platform that is simple to set up and manage, affordable and flexible enough to meet the needs of an individual, a classroom, an entire school or province.
The platform sparks creativity and encourages both students and teachers to explore, experiment, and express ideas in ways that deepen understanding and connections. On the whole, this edition helps students learn with intelligent features by helping students become better writers, presenters and data analysts. The Wayamba School Internet Project seeks to further Mobitel’s long term vision to implement in the digital empowerment of the society, helping build a knowledge-based society and reducing/ eliminating growth hindering factors such as the digital divide. Mobitel is also committed to building access to the Internet. Its ultimate vision is to enable each and every household in the country to move from literacy to e-Literacy. Mobitel’s innovative services are enhancing communication, technology, health, and IT literacy opportunities for citizens.