Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa urged the development of the IT industry in order to overcome the current economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka. However, based on the available data, he noted that there needs to be significant improvement of IT education and infrastructure, which would in turn accelerate the transition into a digital economy.
Following is his statement with a series of recommendations to accelerate the transition to a digital economy:
A digital economic recovery plan is central to the post-pandemic economic recovery and has the potential to generate thousands of high-tech jobs as well as research partnerships in the IT sector, all of which will fast-track economic development. Developing information and communication technology by expanding IT infrastructure islandwide, ensuring affordability and access to devices, improving access to IT-based knowledge and skills, and fast-tracking IT human resource development, are all essential ingredients in the country’s transition to high-income status and into a knowledge-based economy, on par with global peers.
Internationally, the IT and digital innovation industry is growing, with infotech and biotech becoming the most in-demand “currencies”. However, the lack of an environment conducive to the growth of IT companies and underdeveloped IT infrastructure are major drawbacks for Sri Lanka. The third industrial revolution (3IR) used electronics and IT to automate production. Today we are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) where the digital revolution with infotech and biotech are playing a central role. Insufficient investment (i.e. financial, infrastructure, intellectual, and human resource) in essential disciplines like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), data science, gene-editing/genetic engineering, robotics, and renewable energy technologies, as well as related disciplines, will deprive a large proportion of the youth of Sri Lanka from exposure to essential technologies. Instead, these specialties will be available to only a limited, affluent group.
Inadequate access and IT literacy
Affordable access to information technology and literacy in IT and digital tools, and access to suitable devices are all major constraints for Sri Lanka. A government survey done in 2020 (refer Table 1) showed that only 22.2% of households owned a laptop/PC. Nearly 75% of students attending government schools do not have home-based computers. Only about 35% of the entire population had access to the internet, with fixed internet subscribers amounting to only 1.67 million people. A 2020 LIRNEAsia study showed that less than 45% of school-age students had access to internet-based education (even in the form of notes delivered as PDFs using WhatsApp). As for access to real-time, face-to-face online learning using laptops, tabs, and PCs, less than 10% of students had these facilities, many of whom were from urban and privileged backgrounds. Although 96% of households possessed one mobile phone, the device belonged to the parents and would often be shared with children for educational purposes, which can be challenging. Hence, the onset of the pandemic has exposed the growing digital divide in Sri Lanka.
Table 1: Households with internet and computer/device access (2020)
Source: Department of Census and Statistics computer literacy survey using a nationally distributed sample of 12,870 households (5-69 years) 2020, and LIRNEAsia study in 2020
Recommendations
Internet access expansion: This should be a priority. IT Infrastructure should be developed through extensive rollout of fibre optic connections to all parts of Sri Lanka, facilitating multi-service tower installation, satellite connectivity, etc. Enabling widespread access to affordable data packages should be done simultaneously. The Government, together with the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), telecom service providers in the state and private sectors, NGOs, civil society, and international development partners, should form a joint task force and prepare a roadmap, aiming to at least double the current IT penetration in the country within a year.
Device accessibility: Accessibility and affordability should simultaneously be identified as a top priority. Current device accessibility data shows that under 30% of households own a laptop or PC. The target should be at least a threefold increase by 2024.
School IT education: Access to high speed internet/broadband, IT-based facilities, smart classrooms, and IT labs is highly restricted (refer Table 2). Total school ICT labs amount to 5,700 with about 150,000 PCs. Digital panels, interactive smart boards, tablets, PCs, and dedicated connectivity are available in less than 5% of all schools. About 50% of schools lack ICT labs and ICT infrastructure, and have no device accessibility or sustainability strategy. Out of the 10,100 schools, about 30% have internet connection but with inadequate speed and no data packages. About 2,500 schools do not have any mobile signals or data connections. Amongst the provincial schools and particularly in rural schools with no connectivity or “signal”, IT education is still a luxury. IT-trained teachers and schools offering these disciplines amount to less than 1,000 out of the total 10,100 schools. IT infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and device accessibility are essential, and need significant expansion if Sri Lanka is to undertake a paradigm shift in IT education and embark on a digital economic recovery plan.
Table 2: Schools with internet and computer access
Source: Presidential Task Force Report on Reimagining Education (2019)
Expanding IT education in schools: This should start with providing access to devices and improved internet connectivity as well as significantly increasing their current availability. National Colleges of Education (NCOEs) and Teacher Training Centres should be prioritised for the provision of broadband, PCs, tabs, and laptops. Public private partnerships and arrangements with development partners (e.g. UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank) should feature in government plans, with a clear roadmap towards the provision of affordable devices within a one year period. Simultaneously, a strategy for device maintenance, servicing, and device sustainability should be developed. All NCOE teacher-trainees, irrespective of the subjects they teach, should be trained in IT education and this should be expanded to all classes in all schools. The National Institute of Education (NIE) should include into the curricula of primary classes and grades 6-9, age-appropriate IT teaching-learning methods together with STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)-related subjects and English. For maximum effectiveness, these plans should be rolled out along with the provision of devices and internet connectivity, so that the subject will not be taught simply as theory only.
Introducing coding to early childhood education (ECE) programmes: Computer programming or “coding” is considered an essential skill in technology sectors worldwide and its importance as a competency will increase exponentially with the onset of the digital and technological revolution. The inclusion of basic coding in ECE programmes has shown to improve neuroplasticity in children and further builds necessary competencies in other subject areas, especially in STEM. Western nations with some of the best educational outcomes have all introduced coding in schools. The UK mandated computer science classes for all children between the ages of five and 16. Italy introduced a coding project in primary schools and Finland has included coding as part of its core syllabus. Enhanced coding skills will enable a more technologically savvy Sri Lankan workforce that is able to compete with high-skilled technical workers within the region.
IT trained teachers and curricula: Out of the 19 NCOEs where students are trained for three to four years, only one has a specialised course for IT (i.e. Ruwanpura). Other NCOEs have few courses and are not organised systematically. IT-trained teachers from NCOEs on average are about 200-250 annually, and they are assigned for Ordinary Level (O/L) classes while IT graduates with BSc. are assigned to Advanced Level (A/L) classes. IT is mostly taught in Sinhala in the NCOEs. In schools, IT is not taught in a systematic manner, from primary up to O/Ls. (A comparison can be made with countries like Singapore and Malaysia where IT is included as a subject from primary class level onwards and in English medium).
Teacher training programmes must be modernised and updated to reflect the changing competencies required in technology and education. Technological advancements in teaching tools and curricula require significant re-skilling of teachers at all levels with pre-service training and in-service training.
Existing GCE O/L and A/L curricula for IT education needs significant revamping to include practical use of digital tools, by using examples from other countries that placed IT education at the centre of the national education policy. Smart classrooms and digital innovation should be introduced to all schools in a systematic manner. The current situation where only about 10% of schools have facilities for teaching A/L science, math, and tech subjects is not acceptable and has to be increased.
IT expansion in universities and higher education institutes (HEI): This step should be approached with similar programmes as discussed above. Each university should be funded and encouraged to initiate IT training of all staff and students using creative models, with partnerships with HEIs, universities, or development partners. Overseas HEIs that are dedicated for IT education and digital economic expansion should be invited to establish campuses in Sri Lanka and IT specialists from other countries should be invited to teach in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan IT professionals, academics, and entrepreneurs who are working overseas should be invited to spend a few months each year assisting our HEIs to build capacity in IT education and training delivery. Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM), ICTA, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), university IT departments, and similar agencies should be incentivised and motivated to contribute towards implementing a modern vision for IT education development for Sri Lanka.
As shown in Figure 1, Sri Lanka produces less than half the number of ICT graduates needed. Universities and HEIs (state and non-state) should make this issue a priority and aim to reverse these statistics. Demand and supply of skilled IT professionals should be calculated with realistic estimations of shortfalls; bridging this demand/supply gap is vital.
All universities and HEIs should have access to broadband (high-speed internet) and devices at affordable rates. IT curricula in universities and HEIs should be modern and compatible to what’s used in reputed institutions overseas, and the methodologies utilised to bridge the deficit of IT graduates should be studied. Institutions like SLIIT should be expanded and others should emulate the SLIIT model.
A vision for SLIIT graduates: For nearly two decades, SLIIT has been able to produce over 26,000 professionals and over 15,000 graduates, contributing to the development of the country. SLIIT’s vision is to increase the number of students to 30,000 from the current count of 10,000 annually and to be on par with foreign universities that produce IT graduates. Even though SLIIT is successful in producing a high quality workforce in relatively high numbers, it is still insufficient to meet the 2022 ICT revenue target.
Developing IT services: IT services are the fourth largest export earner for the country. The Sri Lankan IT sector serves a number of industry verticals with over 300 companies at present. These include communication, apparel and textiles, banking, financial services and insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, media, retail, transportation, travel and leisure, and many more. The pandemic has necessitated an evolution in our way of working; most industries digitised their operations and those that already use ICT services further enhanced their capabilities to stay relevant and increase their reach and customer base.
Developing IT products and services that will have cross-border value are critical. Since Sri Lanka does not have the necessary numbers to create a market with economies of scale to build billion dollar companies (unicorns), we need to be looking at enlarging our footprint into South Asia and beyond. A new vision and significant policy changes, with the development of requisite human resource inputs, are necessary to reach these targets.
IT exports and startups: These sectors should aim to be the number one foreign exchange earner of the country, creating at least 200,000 direct jobs, about 400,000 indirect jobs, and at least 1,000 startups during 2022-2023. Total credits from the IT sector was approximately $ 1 billion in 2020. In order to achieve the $ 5 billion mark in 2023, the ICT workforce is required to grow five-fold, (i.e. an additional 400,000 IT-qualified professionals should be added by 2022). The Government of Sri Lanka should invite and encourage private investments (local and overseas) in startups, and expand and enrich the startup ecosystem innovatively, while offering benefits (financial, tax, and other) to those willing to launch such initiatives.
Creating a suitable environment and ecosystem for startups and targeting potential unicorns should be another goal. While Sri Lanka possesses some facets like knowledge, human resources, and entrepreneurs willing to take the plunge and build a startup, we don’t have the requisite legal framework, IT professionals, and scalability to position a billion dollar company. Industries that have the scope of current unicorns are concentrated in five sectors; data collection and analysis, fintech, healthcare, software development, and internet services and on-demand services. We need to create a unique selling point (USP) to gain a distinct advantage. Attracting investors should be done by proving our uniqueness and ability to project the one billion dollar figure to attract investors. The goal should be to attract local investors as well, since investments in this area will be well within our range.
What is needed to improve the ICT environment in Sri Lanka?
The current workforce of 80,000 in the ICT sector is inadequate and continuous improvements are essential. ICT laboratories, English language proficiency, and young inventor clubs, will all increase the skilled workforce to meet future demand. The average person cannot afford a laptop or desktop with sufficient resources to learn software development, IoT, or any trending platforms. Companies must also be encouraged to penetrate international markets.
The education system must encourage originality, creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and analytical skills which include project-based assignments that measure entrepreneurship skills, professionalism, and attention to service quality. Create an early passion for IT so that students will naturally opt for IT as a preferred stream. Regulate via accreditation and ensure a high standard of education in private IT education and degree awarding institutes, education programmes, IT labs, and internship programmes, with the required teaching competencies.
The objective is to build a positive perception surrounding Sri Lanka’s IT industry and IT education which will be attractive to foreign students, especially those from the immediate region. This would build capacity for teaching and increase the supply of IT teachers and students.
In the short and medium-term, facilities such as IT parks, IT incubators, data centres, and digitisation programmes should be established. IT villages and IT ecosystems can be created as seen overseas. There should be targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) for foreign missions and ICT agencies to collaborate with and secure new overseas clients to establish centres in the IT parks. As appropriate, more client-friendly labour rules and foreign exchange regulations for foreign companies operating from national IT parks, similar to free trade zones and port city regulations, need to be implemented.
Sri Lankan developers need access to globally available flat world applications, like Google Maps – API, else it would be a disadvantage to Sri Lankans due to non-domiciled competitors having access to these tools. The Government of Sri Lanka should start building a digital economy with specialists from all agencies. Create a level playing field and an investment-friendly environment to attract entrepreneurs from abroad. This could also mean attracting Sri Lankan entrepreneurs who are living abroad to return and establish companies in Sri Lanka and reversing the brain-drain process.
If a world-class, high standard of education is provided by universities and other HEIs, it will be possible to attract international students to study in Sri Lanka and convert the higher education sector into a foreign exchange earner for the country. Sri Lanka must aim to “export” high quality IT, science, and tech-based education, instead of facilitating the ongoing exodus of qualified and high-skilled professionals.
The Government of Sri Lanka Missions overseas should support Sri Lankan IT companies to venture into foreign markets. The Government should enter into multilateral agreements with nations in the region so we may collectively market within the region and create mutually beneficial outcomes. South Asia and East Asia should be taken into consideration for scaling-up operations. For example, Bangladesh and Pakistan are entry points since they lack development in technology, as opposed to India. There are few countries in East Asia that could be strategically targeted. Meanwhile, we should encourage the IT-skilled Sri Lankan diaspora to join the IT fast-track development programme in Sri Lanka. Through online discussions, ideas and best practices can be shared and specific developments can be initiated. Decelerating and eventually reversing the brain-drain is vital at this stage, whilst moving towards brain-gain, by inviting IT professionals from overseas to join the digital expansion drive. Promoting a vision for fast-tracking IT development with digital learning expansion, together with clear implementation plans, would build confidence among potential migrants.
In order to successfully launch a digital economic recovery plan, the most vital aspect is to recognise its importance in the national development agenda by announcing a clear and consistent vision which can be implemented with pragmatic roadmaps, spearheaded by an efficient and empowered team.
| Percentage or number | |
| Internet connectivity | 34.4% |
| Fixed internet subscribers | 1.67 million (7.8/100 people) |
| Able to use a PC on their own (computer literate ) | 32% |
| Able to use a PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone on their own (digitally literate) | 49.5% |
| Households owning at least one PC or laptop | 22% |
| Computer literacy seen highest in GCE A/L qualified and English proficient students | 74% |
| Students with access to PCs, laptops, tablets, or smartphones | <40% |
| Students with access to some form of internet-based education during school closure (via WhatsApp notes, text messages, online teaching) | ~50% |
| Percentage or number | Comments | |
| Schools with internet access | ~30% | No broadband, high speed internet, or affordable data packages |
| Schools with ICT labs | 5,700 | |
| Schools with NO data or mobile signals to connect with | 2,500 | Out of all schools (10,100) |
| Schools with digital panels, interactive smart boards, and dedicated connectivity | 5% | - |