Jaffna Central is privileged to have overseas help
Jaffna Central College is one of the oldest schools in Sri Lanka. It was founded on August 1, 1816 by Rev. James Lynch who was also the first Principal of this prestigious school. This school was first called English School and in the following year it was renamed as Jaffna Wesleyan English School. The name of the school was changed again to Jaffna Central School in1934 by the then Principal Rev. Dr. Peter Percival.
The school was affiliated with Madras University in 1869. It was elevated to the status of a college in 1870 and its name was changed to Jaffna Central College ( JCC). Mr. John O Rhodes who was the Principal from 1867 to 1870, and the then Manager Rev. Dr. J. Kilner were instrumental for achieving this historic milestone. However, Rev. D. P. Niles who succeeded Mr. Rhodes as Principal maintained the prestigious status of the college.
The past and present students of JCC are very proud of all their Principals and their contributions to regional education. The college was fortunate to have highly qualified academic staf f from the United Kingdom as Principals. Since its birth in 1816, the college has maintained its position as a leading educational institution for all communities in Sri Lanka. The pupils extended their reputation from education to sports and other extracurric- ular activities including social services, religious activities and development activities. The Holy Bible was translated into Tamil by a wellknown Hindu Scholar, Arumuga Navalar, who was a student and a teacher at JCC.
JCC’s success stems from the contributions of numerous students, teachers and the leadership of past and present Principals with the support and loyalty from the Vice Principals and Head Masters. As Principals, Rev. James Lynch, Rev. Dr. Peter Percival, Rev. Fredrik M Webster, Rev. Gabriel Leese, Rev. W MP Wilkes, Rev. Harold Bullough, Percy T Cash, Rev. C A Smith and Rev. D T Niles, and Mr. A E Tamber made their mark in the development of JCC. Special mention should be made to Rev. Romaine Cooke for his immense contributions to JCC as Vice Principal.
Many of the Old Boys have excelled in the fields of Medicine, Engineering, Law, Politics and Business and so on. In this article, space restrictions prevent to mention the names of those who excelled in these fields.
Sport is an integral part of the JCC culture. The teachers’ and students’ dedication and their boundless enthusiasm made a mark extending from the Jaffna Peninsula to the mainland and JCC’s reputation stretched further worldwide.
Olympian Dr. Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam, an Old Boy of Central, brought fame not only to JCC but to the nation too by his achievement in high jump in the 1958 Asian Games. He set an Asian record and won the Gold Medal. Jaffna Central had the distinction of introducing both Cricket and Football to Jaffna. Cricket was introduced by Rev. Fredrick Webster in 1881 and Football by Rev. Gabriel Leese in 1894. Both are former Principals of Jaffna Central College. In cricket, Central is playing its Big Match - the Battle of the North – against St. John’s College, Jaffna from 1901. This is the third oldest Big Match in the Island. Central has produced outstanding sportsmen before the civil war.
This unrest has affected the sports arena too. But at present, the sports activities have returned to normal and student sportsmen has started to win National Awards as well.
At the time of the civil war in the country, Central College was very badly affected. Most of the buildings were demolished. The College Library and the College h o s t e l we r e completely destroyed. But the school authorities and the Old Boys worked hard and has brought Jaffna Central back to normal. Late Mr. S. Rajathurai had contributed in a very big way in the reconstruction process.
At present, the school is functioning smoothly with the leadership of Mr. S.K. Elilventhan as Principal. The school is boosted with 2,000 students and 150 academic staff. The Science Lab building work was completed recently. The Computer Lab is utilised to its capacity. The ground is bustling with sports activities.
Inter House athletic meet, Primary School athletic meet, Cricket Big Match, Muthamizh Vizha, Thamizl Day, English Day, Founder’s Day Celebration, Teachers’ Day, Prefects’ Day and Annual Prize Giving and Primary School Prize Giving are the main annual events at Central.
The OBA Colombo was responsible for the issue of the Two Rupee Stamp and the First Day Cover on the 180th Anniversary of the college in 1996. They are instrumental in making Central a National School. Apart from this there are branches in the UK, Sydney, Canada and France. All these Associations are helpful to the college and they have undertaken projects to assist under privileged students. In addition, those branches send funds for important projects beneficial to the school. The Old Boys from different parts of the world when they come to Jaffna, never fail to visit the school with the intention of helping the school in whatever way possible..