Dalupotha MV recognizes its students’ need for self expression…
Located about 3 kilometres away from the City of Negombo on its northern border on the ColomboPuttlam A3 highway is Dalupotha Maha Vidyalaya. This suburban village seemed to have got its name ‘Dalupotha’ due to its green surroundings of the then thinly populated idyllic locality. This village was blessed with two Roman Catholic Schools and one Methodist School that had been established over a hundred years ago by Christian missionaries. It is believed that the Italian Priest Rev. Fr. Viyani, the Parish Priest of St. Anthony’s Church, Dalupotha founded Dalupotha Roman Catholic Boys’ and Girls’ schools in the church premises. These schools were instrumental in the formation of many religious men and women belonging to the Catholic Church including the first Cardinal of Sri Lanka, the Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Cooray, who had his early education at Dalupotha Roman Catholic Boys’ School.
As part of the state’s school restructuring programme, these three schools were merged to form Dalupotha Maha Vidyala in 2001. “This transition from a singlegender-education to co-education has offered us both opportunities and challenges. We have imposed strict rules of conduct to keep the students focused on education as they tend to get distracted easily,” says the current principal Mr. Michael Fernando. Since the merger, the performance level at the public exams has gradually dropped over the last decade, and the challenge he and his teaching staff of 41 teachers face is to regain the academic success the schools enjoyed 11 years ago. After becoming a co-ed school, they have seen a significant increase in the admission of Muslim students. “Muslim parents in the area prefer to educate their children in Sinhala medium schools,” states the principal. The current student population is around 1000.
However, during the recent past, the students have displayed their talent in acting and crea- tive expression. This year they secured the ‘Outstanding Performance’ award at the Divisional English Language Competition while in 2011 they won First Place at divisional and zonal levels and 3rd Place at provincial level in Senior Dialogue English Drama against the leading schools in Negombo. “This marks the beginning of a new chapter in the school history,” says the jubilant Mr. Prasanna Perera, the English Unit Head, who is also the force behind this change. “I was amazed at the tremendous talent they have in expressing themselves,” he adds further. This discovery has motivated him to launch the monthly newsletter “Blossoming Buds”, which may serve as a launch pad for budding creative writers.
The meditative musical evening organized by the aesthetic section early this year gave an opportunity for Grade 12-13 students to relax and enjoy the beauty of oriental music in a non-competitive environment which struck an emotional chord in them. This was a well participated event, and by popular demand it will be repeated soon, according to the music teacher Mr. D.G.S Kulatilake.
Unfortunately, sports are a somewhat underdeveloped area here. The lack of resource personnel seems to hamper their talents in sports. Having recognized the vital role sports play in shaping up personalities, mutual relationships and overall development of children, they are looking for assistance; as a result, with the support of a volunteer coach, an under-13 cricket team was formed recently. A few private sector and volunteer organizations have come forward with their backing while the Lions Club of Negombo has conducted a couple of leadership camps for Grade 10-13 students. Winning the 3rd place at the Junior John Tarbat Athletic meet in June 2012 is a motivation for them to exert more effort into sports in the future.
Dalupoatha M.V. has a long way forward. Even though restricted by the scarcity of resources, the school administration and teachers are trying their best to raise the levels of overall education in ‘bringing forth a generation of virtuous citizen who are also productive and creative in their interaction with the world’.