The Government says 4,570 smart boards have been allocated for schools across Sri Lanka through three education-digitalisation programmes.

Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Dr Harini Amarasuriya outlined the progress in Parliament while responding to a question from MP Rohini Kumari Wijerathna.

The figure represents boards covered by the three programmes and should not be interpreted as meaning that all 4,570 are already installed and operational.

1,000 boards under TRCSL-funded programme

Under a programme funded through Telecommunications Regulatory Commission allocations in 2024, 1,000 smart boards have already been distributed to 1,000 schools.

Chinese assistance: 900 boards

Another 900 smart boards were imported under a Chinese assistance programme.

Of those, 500 have been distributed to schools.

Installation work is continuing through a project-management mechanism associated with the programme.

This means 400 of that tranche had not yet been reported as distributed at the time of the Prime Minister's statement.

Provincial procurement: 2,670 boards

A further 2,670 smart boards were procured at provincial level with funding from the Ministry of Digital Economy.

Those boards have been distributed, while installation work remains in progress.

The provincial distribution is:

  • North Western — 524
  • Western — 481
  • Eastern — 371
  • Uva — 363
  • Southern — 311
  • North Central — 200
  • Central — 170
  • Sabaragamuwa — 150
  • Northern — 100

These figures total 2,670.

Digitalising classrooms

The Government says the programmes are intended to increase access to digital technology in classrooms and support the broader digitalisation of school education.

However, distribution of equipment alone does not establish that every board is operational or that all schools have the connectivity, teacher training or other infrastructure needed for full classroom use.

The current announcement primarily describes the procurement, allocation, distribution and installation status of the hardware.

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