Mahindodaya labs ready and must be opened: CP Governor

Present day parents should discipline their children; Student best judge of his own abilities, he says

A number of ‘Mahindodaya Vidyagara’ in the Central Province, complete with equipment installed, are ready to be opened, but the principals of these institutions are waiting for a person of their choice to declare them open, Central Province Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa disclosed.

“They must be opened for the use of the students and that is why they have been granted by the President”, the Governor said speaking at a function at Gannoruwa Vidyalaya, Gannoruwa, felicitating ten students who have obtained the highest marks at the Grade Five scholarship exam.

The Governor said that discipline must be the responsibility of the parents and though there are constraints on punishment of children in schools, yet he had to admit he got the most canings in school for playing truant. However, he did not go home and tell his parents about being caned, since he would receive another caning at home. That is how he was disciplined and likewise, the present day parent should discipline their children.

He related a story about a student from Deltota who entered Royal College, Colombo, though he came from a family which was not well off. His mother found employment in Colombo, since she could look after him. But, within two years, the student had come to him and said he wanted to leave Royal and go back to his former school. When asked for the reason, the student replied that he could not fit in to the type of society prevalent there.

Mr. Kobbekaduwa said it is a stark fact that the different cultures have not blended.

The Governor advised the students that last minute cramming is not what is expected in schools. Students should do their studies daily so that in the long run they would be benefited and could sit their examinations with ease.

He said that parents want their sons and daughters to be doctors or engineers, but a student has to know what abilities he or she has. He said there was an occasion when he went for the distribution of awards to Dharmaraja College. He had asked one of the recipients what he would like to be in the future. The student replied very boldly that his parents wanted him to be a doctor, but he would prefer to engage himself in aesthetic studies and so would like to enter a university with that idea in mind. The Governor said that this student had identified his own capabilities.

There are many people who had not entered a university, but they have gained a respected place in society. So the best person to assess his or her own capabilities is the student, he said.

Gannoruwa Vidyalaya Principal S.K.Wickremasinghe and other officials were among the others who spoke.