Extraordinary school with only a principal!

Extraordinary school with only a principal!

A school functioning for close upon three years is to be seen in the hamlet of Ihawa in Madulla provincial secretariat division. This school is Ihawa junior school existing at Madulla and then education division in Bibila education zone. At present only the principal is available at Ihawa junior
school ... and there is not a single student to be seen. The principal comes in the morning and then signs the book and at about 2 in the afternoon leaves for home. 

On an inquiry made from the principal Mr. Babypala Ranabahu about the existing situation of the school, this is what he said: "Ihawa junior school situated in Madulla provincial secretariat division was a school which brought outstanding results as well as the popular school about four decades before this. This school which hosted  over three hundred school children and where there were classes upto GCE ordinary level had their education by the year 1990. 

It is this school that has secured the highest results in the science stream at the GCE ordinary level in the year 1990. The school in fact was started by Therele Saranankara Nayaka thero who held the position of viharadhipathi of Ihawa Purana Raja Maha Vihara. The school was taken over by the government on May 9th, 1959, three year later. In certain years the staff comprised of ten. As there was not a sufficient number of teachers by 2010, parents removed there children from school and admitted them to schools around. In the year 2018 the only two students in school left school and had gone to another school. 

From year 2015 children had not admitted themselves for year one. In the year 2018 I was appointed as the principal of the school. A request was made from parents to admit the children going from house to house in hamlets situated in the vicinity of the school. But 18 children living around the school in 2019 and 12 children in the year 2020 were admitted to Elpitiya Maha Vidyalaya. Under these circumstances it has come to a state where the school had to be automatically closed. But what I still try is to operate the school somehow or the other by finding a few children". 

A question and answer was put forward about this from education director, Mrs. Sherina Begum and this is what she said. "Ihawa junior school was a school which which was on a very good level. But year by year the number of students began to dwindle ... and there is not even a single student as such. There are two buildings with classrooms, a laboratory, an office and a 'guri nivasa'. Equipment in the school has been distributed to schools around. The land and buildings would be handed to Madulla provincial secretariat for a common purpose". 

- Nandun Gunatillaka -