The first phase of distributing exercise-equipment sets worth more than Rs.65 million to 500 schools across Sri Lanka has begun under the School Cricket Development Programme.
The programme is intended to support school cricket development while improving students' physical fitness.
The latest phase provides exercise-equipment sets valued at more than Rs.100,000 each, with particular attention to rural schools.
Of the 500 selected schools, equipment was distributed to 48 schools in the Colombo District on September 21.
The programme is being implemented with the involvement of the Presidential Secretariat, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association.
Instructional videos prepared by experienced trainers are also expected to be provided to students and teachers responsible for sports so that the equipment can be used appropriately.
District-level communication groups are expected to be used to share the material and monitor implementation.
Continuation of an existing programme
The exercise-equipment distribution is a new implementation phase of an existing school-cricket development programme, rather than the creation of an entirely new programme.
The wider programme began with allocations from the 2024 Budget.
Earlier phases included:
- construction of 273 practice wickets and 76 grounds in 2024 at a reported cost of Rs.408 million; and
- distribution of cricket-equipment sets to 325 schools in 2025.
The current development is the rollout of exercise-equipment sets to the newly identified group of 500 schools.
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