The government is working to give every secondary school in the country digital connectivity by the end of 2026, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said, alongside promoting the safe use of digital technology by children.
She was speaking at the 2026 World Children’s Day celebration at the S. de S. Jayasinghe Stadium in Dehiwala, the Daily Mirror reported.
The year-end deadline is the substantive content of the announcement. It commits the government to a date roughly three months out for a programme — connectivity in secondary schools nationwide — that has been described in general terms for most of the year.
What else she set out
- Curriculum. A new curriculum is scheduled for Grades 2 and 6 in 2027.
- Infrastructure. School infrastructure and digital facilities are being developed “systematically”, she said.
- School transport. The government is working with the Ministry of Transport to introduce minimum safety standards, laws, regulations and guidelines for school transport services.
- Health and nutrition. She stressed children’s health, food security, healthcare and school meals, and the need to promote school sports.
“Children should be given the opportunity to play freely. It is our responsibility to create an environment with the necessary infrastructure and safety for them to do so,” she said.
Amarasuriya said every child in the country mattered to the government and that its actions were aimed at their well-being, and that World Children’s Day should be treated not as a single-day event but as a reminder of a year-round responsibility to create a safe environment for children.
The event
The celebration was organised jointly by the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council and the Independent Television Network (ITN) under the theme “Mahangu Sampatha – Daruwan Surakimu”.
Those attending included Western Province Governor Hanif Yusoof, MP Samanmali Gunasinghe, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council Mayor K. D. Parakum Shantha, the Municipal Commissioner, children and parents.
A note on the date: the Daily Mirror’s copy places the event on “Friday (3)”. 3 October 2026 was a Saturday. The day-of-month is the figure the paper gives in parentheses, and we report the event as having taken place on 3 October.
Update, 5 October: the numbers behind the pledge — and 2,616 schools still to go
A Daily Mirror report the following day put figures to the programme, answering most of what the Children’s Day announcement left out.
The rollout is being delivered jointly by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), under its “Gamata Sannivedanaya” project, and the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. High-speed fibre is to reach 6,225 government secondary schools islandwide. Of those:
- 1,264 already had fibre before the programme began.
- 2,345 have received new connections under the project.
- 2,616 are “currently being provided” with connections.
Cost. The government has allocated Rs. 150 million through the 2026 Budget for unlimited internet packages, at Rs. 5,130 per school per month.
Provincial spread of the 2,345 new connections: Eastern 347, North Western 334, Sabaragamuwa 303, Southern 300, Western 285, Central 275, Uva 176, Northern 172, North Central 153. Those figures sum exactly to 2,345, an internal check the filing passes.
Primary schools next. Arrangements have been made to extend high-speed internet to all 3,832 government primary schools during 2027 and 2028.
The year-end target looks tight
On the newer filing’s own arithmetic, 3,609 of 6,225 secondary schools — 58% — are connected, and the remaining 2,616 are still in progress. The Prime Minister’s pledge was connectivity for every secondary school by the end of 2026, which leaves roughly twelve weeks to complete 42% of the network. Neither filing says whether that is achievable, and the Daily Mirror’s own headline figure of “over 3,600” counts only schools already connected, not the balance still being worked on.
Not reported
Still unanswered: what counts as “connectivity” for the purposes of the year-end target, whether the Rs. 150 million covers the connection work itself or only the monthly packages, and what happens to schools not completed by 31 December. No timetable is given for the school transport standards, and neither filing records a response from TRCSL or the Education Ministry on whether the 31 December target will be met.
Context
The connectivity pledge sits alongside a broader digitisation push. Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Madhura Seneviratne said in late September that digital technology would be built into teaching, school administration and the teacher transfer mechanism, with student-safety policies to follow and 169 primary schools selected for development in 2026.
The Dehiwala event was one of several Children’s Day observances this week; Sirasa TV held a separate celebration at Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo on the same day.
