• The programme alleged to have underutilised Rs. 1.7 b 

Prime Minister and the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Dr. Harini Amarasuriya alleged that the project to distribute smart boards for 1,000 schools with the goal of enhancing education has completely failed to meet its objectives and that the investment of Rs. 1.7 billion has been underutilised.

Dr. Amarasuriya made these remarks in the Parliament while discussing the project to establish networked classrooms by facilitating smart boards to the school system.

The Cabinet Memorandum Number AMP/24/0385/601/027 and the Cabinet of Ministers decision dated 4 March of last year (2024) has been presented for the approval of the provision of digital smart boards and other related equipment to 1,000 selected schools, with the objective of enhancing education through the establishment of a systematic network of smart classrooms within the school system funded by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL). Subsequently, an additional Cabinet memorandum, No. AMP/24/0978/630/009, dated 14 May 2024, was presented, proposing the implementation of this project in alignment with the project proposed by the Chinese Government for digitalising schools. Under this Chinese-funded project, plans were made to establish a centralised control centre and a studio facility, along with the provision of an additional 500 smart boards. Accordingly, the integration of both the projects was proposed to create a network of smart classrooms across 1,500 schools. 

The Cabinet decision has been presented requiring the Government to purchase smart boards with specifications identical to the smart boards which were proposed to be distributed by the Chinese Government. In line with the Cabinet decision of 14 May 2024, the procurement for the 1,000 smart boards began in July 2024. However, at the time of purchase, the project proposed by the Chinese Government was still at the discussion stage, and no official agreement had been reached regarding the technical specifications of the smart boards. However, the procurement was carried out through the State Trading (General) Corporation without a competitive bidding process, relying on price quotations obtained from a single supplier based on unclear sources that were not officially verified by the Chinese Government. The TRCSL incurred the full cost of Rs. 1.7 billion, with an additional Rs. 430 million allocated for services and installation. The aforementioned procurement appears to have been conducted at an unusually accelerated pace when compared to the standard procedure typically followed for high-value procurements. Specifically, the price quotations were requested on 5 July 2024, opened on 15 July 2024, and by 16 July 2024, the Technical Evaluation Committee had completed and submitted the report. 

Subsequently, the report was reviewed by the Standing Procurement Committee appointed by the Cabinet on 17 and 18 July 2024, with recommendations being provided on the same day. These recommendations were then submitted to the Cabinet on 23 July 2024, and approval was granted on 30 July 2024. Followed by this, the purchase requisition was issued to the supplier on 5 August 2024. Accordingly, the entire procurement process was completed within a span of one month. As part of this procurement, a letter of credit was opened to facilitate the payment of United States Dollars 3,135,392.50 for 1,000 smart boards to Intelligent Express Limited Hong Kong, which has been identified as a representative of Huawei. While the relevant Cabinet paper indicated Huawei as the designated manufacturer supplying the smart boards under the Chinese funding project, the Chinese Government has not confirmed the selection of such a supplier for this project. According to the aforementioned purchase requisition, the purchased smart boards and related equipment were delivered to the Ministry of Education in October 2024 and are currently stored at the Pattala Gedara Teacher’s Training College. 

Although the procurement of the aforementioned smart boards by the Government has been finalised, the relevant project, which was intended to be implemented under the funding of the Chinese Government, has not yet commenced and a final agreement regarding its implementation has not been reached.

Prior to reaching a final agreement on the network integration facilities and centralised system proposed by the Chinese Government, the procurement of these smart boards has resulted in the inability to utilise the equipment for the intended purpose. It is expected that the Chinese aid project is at the discussion stage, and that the implementation may extend until the end of this year. Further, no official decision has been made regarding the selection of a supplier for the project.

Given this situation, if the 1,000 smart boards and other equipment currently stored in warehouses are to be distributed to schools, school principals must be provided with clear instructions on their proper use. However, due to the delay in implementing the project under the funding of the Chinese Government, specific guidelines on the installation and utilisation of the equipment cannot yet be issued.

Since network integration cannot be carried out at this stage, these smart boards can only be used as standalone classroom units. As a result, the objectives of the project will not be met, and the investment of Rs. 1.7 billion made might be considered to be underutilised.

A formal investigation has been initiated to determine whether financial and procedural irregularities have occurred in this procurement. Additionally, discussions are currently continuing with the Chinese Government, and efforts are being made to secure the proposed facilities from China at the earliest convenience.