by Shanika Sriyananda
If not for their knowledge and hard work, the modern three-storied building complex would still be under construction. Thanking the soldiers for constructing the building within eight-months, the Principal of Mahajana College, Kunaratnam Velsivanandan said people in Jaffna co-exist with soldiers.
“They help us a lot in our day-to-day life and are friendly with people. The children of Mahajana College are grateful to the soldiers, for completing the building in double quick time, he said.
Velsivanandan thanked the Secretary, Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa for initiating the project to construct the building and seeking financial assistance from Deshamanya K. Balendra for the construction of the building which cost Rs. 25 million.
“Out of 86 schools in the Walikamam Zonal Division, Mahajana College in Tellippalai has topped the list in examinations in the Grade five Scholarship, O/L and A/L examinations and our students excel in sports and other extra curricular activities.
This building with separate facilities for music, dancing, drama and speech, art and Western music will help students to enhance their practical knowledge”, he said.
Being a leading school in Jaffna, just 17 km away from Jaffna Town, Mahajana College has a proud history and is more than 102 years. T.A Thuraiappapillai, the founder of the school thought of establishing a school for Hindu children as Tellippalai and its adjoining villages were predominantly Hindu.
A teacher of Tellippalai American Mission School started a small school in his house with a few children without any financial assistance from the then government. In 1912 the small school shifted to the present location and was gadually recognised as a school by the government and it received the first grant in 1918.
The grade one school, Mahajana College was shifted to three locations – Alaweddi, Pandiriththippu and Maradanamadam – due to LTTE activities but started functioning again in the present location since 1999, Velsivanandan said.
The principal thanked the Jaffna Security Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Mahinda Hathurusinghe for the assistance of the Army to construct the building.
“Maj. Gen. Hathurusinghe is dedicated to help Jaffna people and also bring development. He listened to our problems. Under his directions, security personnel maintain a rapport with the people. Today people in Jaffna live without fear because of the Secuirty Forces”, he said.
He said children, their parents and teachers are very happy as they have got educational facilities just like the children in the South.
A new three-storeyed building of the school was opened by the Secretary of Defence last Friday. Velsivanandan said the Ambalawanar Kandaiya Memorial Block is constructed in memory of Deshamanya Balendra’s father who was a past student of Mahajana College.
Maj. Gen. Hathurusinghe told the Sunday Observer over 250 soldiers of the 5th Engineer Service Regiment and other infantry regiments undertook the construction of the building and the archtectural design was also done by the Army.
“Mahajana College is a prestigious school in Jaffna and several prominent personalities have studied in this school. As a goodwill gesture to the children of Jaffna, the Army completed the construction without charging any cost for the labour”, he said.
When asked about the security situation in Jaffna, the SF Commander said Jaffna was peaceful as any other part of the country and there is no space for any illegal activity to continue. “ We are always there to protect people of Jaffna and the security personnel help them at any time when they need help. There is a good relationship between the Army and the people”, he said.
Addressing the gathering after opening of the building, the Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanked the security forces personnel for their valuable efforts to develop the Jaffna peninsula within a short period of time. He said if everyone in the Jaffna peninsula joins, the area could be further developed and prosperity could be achieved. “ Today is a memorable day in my life as I see the development achieved in Jaffna”. There are 1,553 students and 68 teachers in school.
The new building comprises 16 classrooms, two office rooms, aesthetic section, 02 indoor gymnasiums and two fully equipped washrooms.
As A SriLankan Tamil I am proud of the good development taken place in Jaffna
Govt should do the following to have everlasting Peace in Srilanka
(a) sue the scumbags who talk or write against race cultcure or religion
Take them to cleaners.
zero tolerance against racisim
(b) spoken sinhala and spoken Tamil all over the country
(c) compulsory meditation classes for all Sri lankans till the disease racisim disappears
(d) I beg Tamils to hoist Srilankan Flag sing national anthem . Let us be patriotic
we are very patriotic to the countries we are living in . We failed to be patriotic to the country which gave us the best education, free medicine and so on
It is true we tamils were discriminated for many years . we need to fight for our rights . In the mean time we have to have to be patriotic to Srilanka which is our mother land
I met many sinhalese and I am touched by their true compassion and sincerity
I believe we all can live in peace
Life is too short and we should never hate each other
Is Army
There are 100 doctors overseas & KP who were old boys of Mahajana College who supported the LTTE.
Hope they will at least now reconcile with the Govt & people of Sri Lanka towards a better future for all communities.
Wonder, what happened to the computer lab that was put up during the way and to that special teacher who was assigned to work there.
This kind of interaction bythe civilians with the Sri Lankan military is very important. Also it is important that the tamil civilians in those areas interact freely with the sinhala masses from the south. Once a certain amount of trust is build then the powers of Land and police can be devolved to the North
Who paid the army for this work? we are living in a military state…and Gota is the number one…army man…
Well done SL Army for a good job done!
@bana nathan,of course its paid for by the Govt as its a Govt school not a private,please give credit where its due mate!
Army was paid for nothing, or for evil deeds only, all these years!! I think for the first time in their life, they have earned their salary. But, yet it seems too good to be true!!!
I beg you to look deep into the faces of the children in the picture.
i am an old boy of mahajana college,iam very happy and thank full to the SL army & the govt to donate this such a building to my old college, at last our kids around that area can peas fully study in the decent building, with out rain water dripping through the roof.thanks again, keep up your good work SLA. thank you.
bana nathan says:
February 26, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Who paid the army for this work?
———————————-
Sri Lankan tax payers !
Here are the facts about how this building was constructed.
1- A Tamil donor gave 25 M to construct this building in memory of his father.
2- Army got that contract and built it in 8 months.
The official news released didn’t say that the army was paid for this work or not.
If the army was paid to do this construction then local contractors and low end laborers lost an opportunity to get some income.
A smart move by Gota to generate revenue for the army and now on local work forces (civilians) in Jaffna have to share the pie with army.
To Bana nathan & his ilk,
“The only thing worse than being an eternal pessimist is to be an ‘arm-chair’ critic, who does absolutely nothing ( except criticize ofcourse)to bring about a positive change”.You are doing an excellent job at both… So keep it up…
To Jazz
I am sorry if I am not Jazzing up what Gota is doing while building Stupas all the way to Jaffna while fortfying the army. Its not such a Jazzed up thing to be ruled by Paramilitary Tamil stooges who are well known for their ruthless past crimes. Sorry if I cannot be more jazzed up about these and other developments in Sri Lanka.
Hi Bana,
We are many many many miles away from seeing proper governance(As in developed countries) in the North or the whole country for that matter. Till then these stooges will be used, bribery and corruption, nepotism will cntinue. But the fact is after the LTTE was decimated the North has seen progress in terms of contruction , development etc. Lets head in this direction with the determination to improve governance in the years to come.
hatred will not take us anywhere
Virayen viraya nosansidhe(Saying by Lord Buddha)
Anonymous at 1:00 says: A Tamil donor gave 25 M to construct
That would be Deshamanya Ken (Kandiah) Balendra, former CEO of John Keels. One of the buildings was in memory of his father, Ampalavanar Kandiah.
Those guys who criticize Army should listen to Deshamanya Ken (Kandiah) Balendra’s speach at the opening.
Why dose Army have to engage in civilian matters ?.
Is this same happening in the South as well or any other democratic countries ? These only happening only in the countries which has military rule.
As an old student of Mahajana College Tellippallai I want to say thank you to everyone who put their energy and effort to complete this beautiful building. It does not matter whether I build it or you build it. The matter is it has been done and it is going to be there for a one purpose that is to accommodate and educate our generation to come. Now every one who is saying negative about it please help our school to furnished our new building.
Thank you.
Chinese Charm has it right.. Just look at those faces. We see ourselves in them..!
LLRC recommended that the north be de-militarised. This involvement of the army, though positive, is the opposite of the recommendation. Do not forget that when the ‘Grease Yaka’ went to the north the army (may be police also) went berserk and attacked a whole village, literally breaking their limbs – no medical care, no compensation. Two faces of the same army! We should not accept the unacceptable.