March 17, Colombo (LNW): Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has expressed concern over the underwhelming outcome of a project aimed at enhancing education through the distribution of smart boards to 1,000 schools, noting that the initiative has failed to meet its objectives, and the Rs. 1.7 billion investment has been largely underutilised.
Speaking in Parliament, the Prime Minister highlighted the shortcomings of the project, which was intended to establish a network of smart classrooms across the island, thereby improving the learning environment for students.
The plan, which was supported by the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL), was initiated under Cabinet Memorandum No. AMP/24/0385/601/027, which sought approval for the provision of digital smart boards and related equipment to selected schools.
The project’s initial goal was to enhance education by integrating advanced technology into the classroom. However, complications arose when the planned network of classrooms could not be properly implemented due to delays and ongoing negotiations with the Chinese government for the provision of additional smart boards and digital infrastructure.
As part of a broader initiative involving Chinese funding, which was intended to digitalise schools across the country, plans were made to integrate 500 more smart boards, along with a centralised control system and a studio facility.
This would have brought the total to 1,500 smart boards in schools nationwide. However, these plans have yet to be finalised, and discussions with China are still in the preliminary stages, further delaying the project’s completion.
The Sri Lankan government, in the meantime, went ahead with the procurement of 1,000 smart boards in July 2024, despite the fact that an official agreement regarding the specifications of the smart boards had not been reached with the Chinese government.
The purchase process was conducted through the Sri Lanka State Trading (General) Corporation, but without the usual competitive bidding, and with price quotations sourced from a single supplier whose credentials were not officially verified.
The procurement was unusually swift, with all procedures – from requesting price quotations to approving the purchase – being completed within a span of just one month.
By August 2024, a Letter of Credit was issued for USD 3.13 million to Intelligent Express Limited Hong Kong, a company identified as a representative of Huawei.
However, the Chinese government had not yet officially confirmed Huawei as the supplier, raising questions about the procurement’s transparency.
The smart boards were delivered to the Ministry of Education in October 2024 and are currently stored at the Pattala Gedara Teacher’s Training College. However, with the related Chinese-funded project still stuck in the discussion phase, the equipment remains unused and stored in warehouses, leaving the schools that were intended to receive the smart boards in limbo.
Because the network integration for the classrooms has not been completed, the smart boards can only be used as standalone units, limiting their functionality and preventing the project from achieving its intended educational objectives.
This delay has led to concerns that the LKR 1.7 billion investment may not deliver the desired results, with the funds potentially being seen as underutilised.
Additionally, the ongoing negotiations with China have yet to result in a final agreement regarding the provision of the broader digitalisation infrastructure, with no clear timeline for when the project will move forward.
In light of these complications, a formal investigation has been launched to examine whether any financial or procedural irregularities occurred during the procurement process.
Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to expedite discussions with the Chinese government in the hopes of securing the necessary digital infrastructure as soon as possible to allow the project to proceed.
