Key(board) to a global village

PRESIDENT Mahinda Rajapaksa’s aim to extend the field of computer literacy to a wider section of the populace is move in the right direction given its relevance in the current context of an ever shrinking world.

Speaking at the launch of the Nenasala Centre at Samanthurai via satellite from the Presidential Secretariat, President Rajapaksa said his objective was to extend computer literacy to 60 per cent of the country’s population from the current 25 per cent.

If realised, it would certainly be a huge plus for a country still attempting to make headway on the Information Superhighway. It would have far reaching beneficial consequences to the nation as a whole.

In today’s environment where globalisation is the buzzword it is only fair that a wider section of the country’s population is provided the wherewithal to expand the frontiers of their knowledge and catch up with the developments of the modern world.

This is important if we are to forge ahead as an advanced community where knowledge based information is the key. Although we take pride of being a nation with a very high literacy rate in Asia admittedly this has been more or been less in a ‘literary’ sense with the country lagging far behind in the skills development field.

All this time we were churning out unemployable graduates who did not fit into a milieu that called for skills beyond their book knowledge. The objective of the President therefore to expand computer literacy no doubt would remedy this situation and provide an opportunity for our youth to keep abreast with modern trends.

Today computers have become the mainstay in the commercial field. They are now a permanent fixture in most middle class homes which is an indication of its profound influence in the lives of many. Today all major schools have courses in computer studies which is a healthy trend that would help the students expend their horizons beyond their book knowledge.

With the world leapfrogging in technological advancements breaching established frontiers, we as a country cannot afford to be left behind. There has to be a concerted effort to bring a wide segment into the orbit of advanced knowledge that could be accessed through computers.

What the President intends to do is take the computer to the hinterlands to give rural children an opportunity to access fresh knowledge. No doubt the necessary infrastructure for this would have to be built before embarking on such a mission.

Above all, the background should be created to prepare these segments for computer literacy. There should be emphasis on the learning of English which is the gateway to many frontiers of knowledge.

The Government should ensure that competent teachers are handed over this task so that children in backward schools are brought on par with the rest. Steps should be taken to provide all schools in the country with computers along with measures to popularise computer education among a wider section of the populace through a vigorous median campaign.

The Government could also popularise computer use by offering special loan schemes for purchasing computers. What we need increasingly today is a society in tune with modern day trends through access to the outside world. Computer literacy is one way of achieving this.

The e-Government initiative should be expanded. It should be possible to fill the plethora of forms found in Government Departments on-line and obtain quick results. Even a person in a remote area will then be able to transact business with Government agencies through Nenasalas and other computer centres.

Accessing the Internet is rapidly becoming more affordable due to the proliferation of fixed and mobile phone lines throughout the country. A home telephone now costs only around Rs.5,000 (mobiles can be purchased for less) and the network operators are setting up base stations everywhere.

In fact, with the merging of computer and information devices, the computer as we know it may even cease to exist. The mobile phone has already become an all-in-one device and some handsets even offer free telephone calls over the Internet. It will not be long before every house, even every individual, has access to the Internet - and to the world - at their fingertips.