ComBank empowers next generation with milestone 200th STEM Classroom
Reinforcing its commitment to digital education and future-ready skills, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon has reached a significant milestone in its contribution to Sri Lanka’s education sector with the opening of its 200th STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) classroom at Agamethi Balika Maha Vidyalaya in Panadura.
This facility extends a long running programme that has to date brought modern, technology-enabled learning to more than 325,000 students across the country. The beneficiary school has a student population of over 2,500 across Grades 1 to 13 and a teaching staff of 110, and the new facility gives these students hands-on exposure to key technologies driving the modern economy.
The newly established classroom transforms a previously under-utilised space into an interactive learning environment equipped with an advanced SMART Board and lecture hall chairs with writing pads. The facility will enable teachers to deliver multimedia-rich STEM and IT lessons while supporting collaborative learning, coding, interactive simulations and the acquisition of digital skills, with the school’s dedicated IT faculty playing a key role in its use.
Commercial Bank’s STEM classroom initiative forms part of its broader, long-term commitment to education and digital literacy. The programme grew from the Bank’s education-related initiatives and was significantly expanded through its 100 Smart STEM Schools project, launched during the Bank’s centenary in 2020. That initiative brought digital learning content into 100 school classrooms, with the classrooms renovated, furnished and equipped by the Bank, and teachers trained to make effective use of the digital content.
The Bank’s wider investment in school-level digital education has also included the donation of more than 400 IT Labs, with those facilities estimated to have benefited more than 500,000 students nationwide. STEM classrooms have complemented this effort by providing dedicated environments in which technology can be integrated into the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Mr Anuradha Welikada, the Principal of Agamethi Balika Maha Vidyalaya said the new facility would provide students with an opportunity to experience a more interactive approach to learning and make greater use of technology in their education. “This classroom gives our students a valuable space in which learning can become more interactive, practical and engaging. We are especially pleased that our girls will have access to facilities that can help them build confidence in using technology and develop skills that will be important to their future studies and careers,” he said.
Commercial Bank was the first Sri Lankan bank to achieve a market capitalisation exceeding US$ 1 billion. The Bank emerged as the No. 1 ranked Sri Lankan bank in the 2026 edition of the prestigious Top 1000 World Banks ranking published by The Banker magazine, UK. The Bank has the highest capital base among all Sri Lankan banks, and is one of the largest private sector lenders in Sri Lanka. Ranked No. 1 in the Business Today Top 40, Commercial Bank is recognised as the most respected and most-awarded bank in Sri Lanka, is a leader in digital innovation and is the country’s first 100% carbon-neutral bank.
Commercial Bank operates more than 270 strategically-located branches and an extensive network of automated machines island-wide, and has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan banks, with 21 branches in Bangladesh, a majority stake in a fully-fledged Tier I Bank in the Maldives, a microfinance company in Myanmar, and a representative office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The Bank’s fully-owned subsidiaries, CBC Finance PLC and Commercial Insurance Brokers (Pvt) Limited, also deliver a range of financial services via their own branch networks.
Photo caption:
Mr Raja Senanayake, Deputy Chairman of Commercial Bank, Mr Hasrath Munasinghe, Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer of the Bank and Mr Anuradha Welikada, the Principal of Agamethi Balika Maha Vidyalaya at the opening of the 200th STEM classroom donated by the Bank.