broadband strategies handbook.pdf - Khazar University

Box 6.1: Sri Lanka’s Approach to Computer LiteracyIn Sri Lanka, a fifth of the population was“computer literate” in 2009, according to asurvey by the Census and Statistics Department,but gaps exist depending on age, education,and language fluency (figure B6.1.1).Around 60 percent of college-educatedpersons were computer literate compared tojust over 1 percent of persons with no schooling.Over half of the country’s English speakerswere computer literate compared to lessthan a quarter of those who only speak othernational languages.Training for Sri Lanka’s vulnerable groupsis being supported through schools and telecenters.The Asian Development Bankhelped to fund the Secondary EducationModernization project, which included acomponent for creating over 1,000 computerlearning centers (CLCs) with Internet accessin secondary schools. 8 The CLCs wereopen to the public after school hours to providetraining and Internet access. The Ministryof Education issued a regulation forschools to keep the money earned fromtraining and Internet access services insteadof transferring it to the central treasury, allowingthe CLCs to recover a portion of theiroperating costs. About 90 percent of schoolswith CLCs provide after-hour use, with70 percent of them earning a profit. Theearnings have been used to pay for access,electricity, maintenance, repairs, and equipmentsuch as printers and scanners.Figure B6.1.1 Computer Literacy in Sri Lanka, 2009% of population70605040302020.322.0 18.747.659.724.3 20.856.31002.81.2Sri Lankaby sexmalefemaleby agegroup (years)15–1960–69by educationalattainmentno schoolingG.C.E (A/L) oraboveby languageliteracySinhalaTamilEnglishgenderage group(years)educationalattainmentlanguageliteracySource: Sri Lanka, Department of Census and Statistics.Note: The GCE A/L (General Certificate of Education Advanced Level) is an exam taken by students inSri Lanka, typically at the end of high school.S ources: Sri Lanka, Department of Census and Statistics 2009; Dessoff 2010.Note: Individuals are considered computer literate if they can use a computer on their own.Driving Demand for Broadband Networks and Services 253