Sri Lanka's Education Minister Susil Premajayantha announced on Sunday that starting March 19, a pilot project will be initiated in 20 schools, providing students from Grade 8 the chance to delve into artificial intelligence (AI) within their information technology curriculum.

Addressing a public gathering in Colombo, he said that teachers are being trained, and students throughout the country will be able to learn the subject in the coming year.

Premajayantha said this was a recommendation of the task force appointed for the formation of a national strategy and plan related to AI.

The minister also said they plan to provide vocational and soft skills training to 50,000 students who sit for the university entrance exam in 2023, almost 15 percent of the total.

(With UNI inputs)