Intel Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education today, to further support the efforts of the Government to prepare Sri Lankan teachers to effectively engage students to develop their thinking and enhance learning. 

Under this MoU, Intel and Ministry of Education will be strongly focusing on further implementation of Intel® Teach, the professional development programme which helps teachers to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into classrooms and engage students in learning and preparing them with critical skills, at designated educational institutions in Sri Lanka.

The MoU was signed by Upali Marasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka and Indika De Zoysa, Country Business Manager for Intel Sri Lanka in the presence of H.U. Premathilake, Additional Secretary (EQD); Niel Gunadasa, Director (ICT), Ministry of Education; Priyantha K. Weerabahu, Intel Education Program Manager, Sri Lanka and other ministry officials.

“Sri Lanka is moving progressively to become a knowledge hub. Strengthening the implementation process of Intel Teach in schools will take the country a step closer to that goal. I am happy to say that our work with Intel over the past eight years has led to remarkable progress in ICT education in the country,” said Upali Marasinghe, Secretary of the Ministry of Education.

Indika de Zoysa, Country Business Manager for Intel Sri Lanka said, “Intel has always worked towards improving the standards of education in Sri Lanka and supported the Government’s initiative of taking ICT to the students. Since 2006, we have been strengthening the capacity of teachers on using technology in the teaching learning process. Intel® Teach program will help young minds to compete in an innovative society that comes from the teachers."

In Sri Lanka, more than 42, 000 teachers from Western, Uva, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Northern, Eastern, Southern and North-Western provinces have been trained under the Intel® Teach teacher professional development. The programme has reached 15% schools, 15% of teachers, 20% of students, 50% of teacher educators, and 65% of pre-service institutions in the country. Intel® Teach course materials, which are also available in Sinhala and Tamil languages are being used by more than 80,000 students in over 2,000 schools in Sri Lanka.

Intel® Teach Program is a worldwide effort to help both experienced teachers and Pre-Service teachers integrate technology into instruction to develop students' higher-order thinking skills and enhance learning. It's a professional development program to help teachers effectively integrate Technology into their curriculum, classroom tools and resources to make a positive impact on teaching and learning. The endeavor of the program is to equip students with 21st Century skills; thus enabling them to flourish in a knowledge-based economy. Working with national, regional and local educators and governments in more than 70 countries, Intel® Teach is the largest and most successful program of its kind. In fact, according to Intel’s estimates, more than 300 million students have been prepared to learn, lead, and succeed by over 10 million teachers trained in Intel® Teach.

About Intel: Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The Company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com

Photo caption: Intel Sri Lanka Country Business Manager, Indika De Zoysa exchanging the MoU with Upali Marasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of Education