Computer literacy increases

Uditha Kumarasinghe, Irangika Range and Sandasen Marasinghe

Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana told Parliament yesterday that computer literacy has increased by 16 per cent in 2007 which was only 9.7 percent in 2004 due to recent upsurge in the usage and adoption of Information Technology (IT) in Sri Lanka.

The Minister said this was raveled by the recent Household Literacy Survey (2006/2007) published by the Department of Census and Statistics.

The Minister further said that the ownership of computers and access to Internet facilities have also risen in 2007 compared to 2004.

This was attributed to the Government's attempts for the development of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Sri Lanka on a continuing basis.

The IT has been identified as a priority for the Development in the Mahinda Chinthanaya.

In the Policy and legal reform arena, ICTA facilitated the preparation of the Electronic Transactions Act No.19 of 2006. This legislation greatly enhances and improves the manner in which IT could be used in the Government, the private sector and more importantly the citizens of the country. This provides for the legal recognition of electronic contracts and legalizes the provision of the Government services electronically.