ComBank donates milestone 150th STEM classroom

Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge and Chief Financial Officer Nandika Buddhipala declare open the 150th STEM classroom donated by the bank

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has reached a milestone in its national initiative to propagate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Sri Lanka with the opening of the 150th STEM classroom donated by the bank.

The bank’s Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge, Chief Financial Officer Nandika Buddhipala, Deputy General Manager – Personal Banking Delakshan Hettiarachchi and other representatives of the corporate and senior management participated in the event at the beneficiary school, Nagasena Vidyalaya, Kelaniya.

Commercial Bank’s STEM classrooms project commenced with a commitment by the bank to equip 100 classrooms with the required IT facilities to deliver digitised educational content and to provide training to teachers, to commemorate the Bank’s centenary year, which was celebrated in 2020. The 100 schools were selected from nearly 250 schools to which Commercial Bank had by that time, donated IT Labs as part of a separate project to elevate IT literacy levels on a national scale. Commercial Bank has now donated 298 IT labs and equipped 150 STEM classrooms across Sri Lanka, contributing significantly to modernising the country’s education facilities to match current needs and trends. The bank recently commenced a new project to promote science education in 50 schools in collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Science Branch of the Ministry of Education. The three-year project is focused on science and mathematics education, inculcating an innovation culture at school level, developing science and communication skills, raising awareness on nationally-important issues, providing a platform to showcase talents and skills of students, creating awareness of the evolving job market and improving students’ mental health.

Commercial Bank was also a key partner in the national Smart Schools initiative where 165 schools were equipped with digital learning facilities. The bank’s ‘Sipnena’ online portal contains digitised school curriculum content, complete with practical videos and presentations to facilitate easy learning for students.