His heart and soul were always focused on the school

Kingsley Cooray, former Principal of the School for the Deaf in Ratmalana, was called to his eternal rest on February 6. I feel proud and privileged to pen a few words of appreciation on this great and humane personality on his birthday which fell on June 3.

From 1966 to 1992, he rendered an untiring and selfless service to the school which catered to children with hearing impairment.

The School for the Deaf in Ratmalana is a branch of the Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind, managed by a Board of Trustees, headed by the Bishop of Colombo of the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. Established in 1912 by a British missionary Ms. Mary Chapman, it was the first institution for the education of the visually and hearing impaired children in the country.

Kingsley Cooray had the distinction of being the second Sri Lankan Principal of the school, taking over the reins from J.L.O. Welikala, leaving a promising teaching career at Trinity College, Kandy. The

Board of Trustees provided him the necessary support and guidance by arranging for him a specialised training programme in Victoria, Australia as there was a dearth of qualified and trained teachers in this field locally. Therefore the contribution he made was greatly beneficial, not only to the school but also to the entire field of education of the hearing impaired.

Teaching the hearing impaired is not an easy task. Further, caring for the resident children and supervising and protecting them requires a great deal of wisdom and tact, qualities he displayed at all times. The school curriculum was revised and special emphasis was laid on the pre-vocational training programme. Oral and sign language was used in communicating with the students, while paying attention to teaching of speech and auditory training in the lower grades. He was also instrumental in putting up many new buildings mainly with the foreign aid.

Mr Cooray acted as the visiting lecturer of the Special Education Unit of the Teacher Training College, Maharagama for more than two decades. His services and guidance was sought by the Special Education Department of the Ministry of Education many times in the preparation of the special curriculum for hearing impaired children.

It was his dedication, integrity and honesty that made him popular among his colleagues in the field of deaf education. He had a great commitment for his job as Principal. Although he was a strict disciplinarian, he was much loved and his simplicity was admired by all those around him. In recognition of his meritorious services, the Old Boys’ Association of his alma mater,

Trinity College, Kandy, conferred on him the Community Service Award in 1986.

During his period of service, the School for the Deaf flourished rapidly. The Vocational Training programme was upgraded and paved the way for students to engage in employment more suited to the training that they had in school. When the school was in need of funds, he, together with the principal of the School for the Blind, C.H. Gunawardena along with the Board of Trustees were instrumental in getting financial assistance.

Even after his retirement from service, his heart and soul was always focused on the school. Whenever I visited him, he never failed to inquire about the wellbeing of the school and the students.

All those who are connected to the School for the Deaf, will cherish the beautiful memories he left behind.