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Natasha
Natasha
Jun 05 2026
70Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Digital Economy is planning to change the current public service from a person-based system to a system based on digitization, the Ministry said in a statement after a meeting.
“The primary objective of this initiative is to enhance efficiency within the country’s public service and eliminate service delays by developing officers’ technological knowledge to keep pace with rapidly changing global technology,” the Ministry said in a statement.
“During the discussion, strong emphasis was placed on the necessity of transforming the public service from a traditional “person-based” methodology to a modern “system-based” approach.”
It also said overcoming the technological anxiety present among senior officials, fostering an interest in digital skills, and providing cyber security knowledge to prevent cyber attacks and data risks caused by officer ignorance were identified as priority tasks.
The session was presided over by the Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne, and the Deputy Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, Ruwan Senarath.
“Considering the practical difficulties of training hundreds of thousands of public servants simultaneously, it was decided to conduct a technical evaluation on utilizing an E-Learning Platform,” the Ministry said.
“In lieu of long lectures, a “Micro-learning” methodology was proposed, which delivers learning content via mobile phones through 10–15 short video clips lasting 2–3 minutes each.”
It was also discussed that completing these digital literacy courses should be a mandatory policy requirement for public officers’ annual performance appraisals and promotions.
The Ministry said it was agreed during the discussion to utilize computer laboratories in offices and schools for training purposes after 4:30 PM, and to introduce “Gamification” (badge-awarding systems) along with digitally signed certificates to encourage the learning process.
This process is planned to be implemented under a Three-Tiered Plan: Training currently employed officers based on their professional levels (executive, middle management, and others), recruiting new entrants into the service exclusively as digitally certified individuals and formulating school and university curricula for future generations to align with the digital economy.
