Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said the present government is taking steps to streamline the maintenance and repair of digital educational equipment in schools across the country, including computers, multimedia projectors and Smart Boards.

Speaking in Parliament today (8), the Prime Minister said a formal mechanism was also being developed to provide travel allowances and payments to teachers who are specifically assigned to carry out maintenance work.

She was responding to a question raised by Member of Parliament Thurairasa Ravikaran.

Prime Minister Amarasuriya said a pool of specially trained teachers had already been established to undertake hardware and networking maintenance at school level. In the Northern Province, 76 teachers have currently been assigned for this purpose across 13 education zones, the Office of the Prime Minister stated.

She said the present government planned to expand the pool to address the existing shortage of trained personnel, with another group of teachers scheduled to receive specialised training in October 2026.

The Prime Minister said the government was also seeking the necessary approvals to establish a formal payment mechanism to resolve existing issues relating to travel expenses and payments for teachers undertaking maintenance activities.

She further said the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education had provided additional financial allocations to provincial authorities for the repair of digital infrastructure.

Substantial allocations had been made for 2025 and 2026, including for the North Western, Eastern and Northern Provinces, she said.

According to the Prime Minister, the government is also working with the Special Task Force to update guidelines on the maintenance of digital education infrastructure, which will subsequently be issued to schools.

Meanwhile, steps have been taken to repair equipment whose warranty periods have expired by obtaining quotations at minimum rates.

The government is also taking measures to train students at provincial level so that they can participate in the maintenance of digital educational equipment, the Prime Minister said.