Our greatest asset is intelligent people – Gotabaya
Posted on October 28th, 2019
Courtesy Adaderana
All countries in Asia are now at a developed stage and this is due to the use of technology and intelligence, according to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Presidential Candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Pointing out that Sri Lanka doesn’t have a large industrial system, the former Defense Secretary stated that Despite the lack of resources, the greatest asset the country has is its intelligent people.
Rajapaksa mentioned this at a public rally held in Hingurakgoda, yesterday (27).
He states that intelligent people in the country can easily be trained for careers of technology and intelligence.
He said: Information technology, digital technology, computer technology. Many think these careers are only for people who studied science and gained a degree. This is a misconception.
Once I met a youth, who I received a consultation on social media. It seemed to me that this youth was well versed in his subject. I asked him what university he graduated from. He told me he studied at Ananda College and failed A/Ls. But he hadn’t given up. He told me that anyone can get a great job under IT and digital technology if they work hard.
He is the owner of a company that brings a large sum of foreign revenue to the country. He consults companies in countries such as the United States and Australia. He is only 24 years old.
I asked him what is his advice for other youngsters in the country was and what a government can do to bring the youth in the country to the same level. He said two things; one, give them a good education on the English language and two, give a better internet connection.
India trains its youth in technology. This is a great opportunity; we should not let it slip away.
We can do this if we have a clear vision. We have shown this clearly in our manifesto.”
October 28th, 2019 at 10:07 pm
“He said two things; one, give them a good education on the English language and two, give a better internet connection.”
This is true.
However this alone is not enough. There is one more important thing. We should give a proper understanding at the lowest level or the digital logic level. That is what India is doing. A book that explains the whole thing including the history of the development of computers was being sold for over a hundred dollars in the US. Indians updated it, got the printing rights to be distributed in SAARC countries and are selling for just Rs 550.00 Though Sri Lanka is also included I haven’t seen it in any of book shops in Colombo.
We have enough coders or the web designers churning out software and web pages with help of platforms that synchronize various packages automatically without perhaps knowing what actually goes inside. We must also have collaborations with big players like AMD, ARM etc. Many of these are funded and owned by ME countries like Emirates and Qatar. Singapore already has five chip making factories (or foundries). Why not we start with one. But unlike the Japanese PCB makers who are here since mid 90s without much knowledge transfer, our people should have some control to have a meaningful participation.