Providing computer education
Child Aid Lanka is working with the Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT) College in Jaffna to give a grounding in computing and IT to children from families that cannot afford to pay for it. IIT is a private higher education institute specialising in information technology, based in Colombo with branches in Jaffna,Mannar and Kandy.
STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM OUR SPONSORSHIP
The year-long course, for children aged 11 to 18, will provide a grounding in IT that will prepare them for access to further study and a secure career. The project is directed at children whose families cannot afford to pay for their education; students from government run free schools in the Jaffna area are nominated. Child Aid Lanka has forged this partnership with IIT which has links with the University of Westminster in London, and also runs the ‘Future Kids’ course, specifically designed as an introduction to computers for under 16s – taking account of the fact that for many of the students this would be the first time they had used a computer.
The first 27 students on the Child Aid Lanka sponsored computer course in Jaffna are progressing well. The ‘class of 2012’ started on 16 April, with students attending two afternoons per week after their normal schooling; they are normally taught in two classes. The course started with a general introduction to computers and their use, followed by familiarisation with the computer and use of the desktop and mouse. The students are now getting to grips with Microsoft Word. Child Aid Lanka monitors the students’ attendance and the progress they are making, receiving regular reports from the staff and teachers at IIT. The students took their first exam last week, and they are making good progress.
