Hindu College plans quality education in the future
The Hindu College, located off Duplication Road in Colombo 04, was initiated in February 1951. The school was born in response to a need identified by the Hindu Educational Society. Hindu College was first established under the name “Pillayar Padasalai”. The first principal of the school was Mr. K. Pathmanaban. The school started with two branches, one in Colombo and the other located in Ratmalana. They were named Hindu College Colombo and Colombo Hindu College Ratmalana, respectively.
It was Sir John Kotelawala, then the Prime Minister of Sri- Lanka, who laid the foundation stone for the construction of the school in Ratmalana, at its inception in 1953. The Colombo school housed the primary grades, whilst the Ratmalana School housed the senior grades. In 1962, the school was taken under the wing and received the support of the government.
In 1976, to mark the Silver Jubilee celebrations, Sirimavo Bandaranaike (then Prime Minister of Sri- Lanka) declared open a three- storied building in the school premises. This block was named as the ‘Silver Jubilee block’.
The present principal of the school is Mr. I. Rasaratnam. Under his guidance, he aims for the students of the school to be good citizens of the future who have been moulded through religious guidance and educated according to the educational goals set forth by the government. The school is proud to note that they are a highly respected and leading Tamil medium school.
In 2011, the school celebrated their diamond jubilee, with a range of activities including a school concert where the chief guest of the event was the President of Sri-lanka.
In June of 2011, the school saw the addition of a junior computer laboratory and library donated to the school.
The future plans of Hindu College, includes quality improvement in the educational aspects through a strict focus on discipline. The school is proud that they have now improved their actions towards preserving the environment with the active participation of the students.
The Hindu College has a strong network of past pupils with many Old Boys’ Associations formed overseas as well. They are highly involved in the development of the school both, in terms of educational aspects as well as in infrastructure. In 2010, the Old Boys’ Association of Sydney donated an art gallery for the school whilst in 2011, the college auditorium was renovated and a modern sound system was donated to the school by the Melbourne Old Boys’ Association. Thus it is encouraging to see that the entire school community has rallied around their Alma mater to ensure that the future generations enjoy their school years along with the latest technological additions.
Hindu College Colombo also encourages students to take part in extra- curricular activities, thus the school supports over 25 student associations which include the St. John’s ambulance service, Interact Club, Leo’s club, scouts etc.
In 2009, Hindu College Colombo secured first place in an All- Island Tamil day competition organised by the Ministry of Education.
Currently the school is home to almost 3800 students and 152 teachers. The school also maintains a very good library, whilst classrooms too maintain their own libraries.
Recent academic achievements of the school include scholarship examination students receiving second, fourth, fifth place at district level in 2011 and three students receiving 3A’s at the 2011 Advanced Level examinations.
Hindu College Colombo also takes great pride in being a part of the Mother Sri Lanka programme, and regularly hosts events as a part of this programme.
The school performs well not just in terms of academics but also in terms of extra- curricular activities, with Hindu College Colombo emerging champions at the All Island Chess Championship in 2010. In 2012, two students emerged boys’ board winners at the Colombo Inter-school chess tournament.
The administration encourages the students to interact with other schools and to share their culture and traditions with stu- dents from other schools whilst also learning more about other cultures. This is carried out through various projects carried out by the student clubs in the school, such as the Leo club and the interact club.
Future events of the school include an educational exhibition to be held in May of 2012. The Hindu College also looks forward to begin construction on the college swimming pool and also in the construction of a few more pavilions.
As a school that has completed half-a – century of providing an education in a religious and cultural environment, we wish the Hindu College of Colombo and its students all the very best for the future.