Maliyadeva College
6°54′16″N 79°51′40″E / 6.90444°N 79.86111°E
| Maliyadeva College (MCK) | |
|---|---|
| File:Maliyadeva college logo.jpg The Motto | |
| Location | |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | Vidya Bhushanam Purusha Bhushanam Pali - (Science is the jewel of man) |
| Established | June 1888 |
| Founder | Anagarika Dharmapala, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott |
| Principal | R.M.M. Rathnayaka |
| Grades | Class 1 - 13 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Age | 6 to 19 |
| Enrollment | 4500 |
| Campus | 20 acres |
| Colour(s) | Blue, Yellow & Red |
| Website | www.devans.org |
Maliyadeva College,Kurunegala, is a government school established in 1888, by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. It is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools and considered by many to be a leading Buddhist school in Sri Lanka.It is a National School and controlled by the Central government. Today the school accommodates nearly 4500 students. The term Devans is being used to call the students of Maliyadeva College.
History
In June 1888, a new school with one student was opened at a place in Bodhiraja Mawatha near the present Central Bus Stand in Kurunegala, pioneered by Anagarika Dharmapala and Colonel Henry Steel Olcott with the assistance of local donors; Messrs. Hulugalle, Adikaram and Mudaliyar Attygala. This school was named as "Kurunegala Buddhist Institution".
The school was managed by the "Buddhist Theosophical Society". The first manager of the school was Mr A.M Abeygunaratna who was also a Notary Public.
By 1908, the number of students has risen to one hundred. In 1909 the school was moved to a new premises at a Buddhist Temple Ethkanda Viharaya along the Kandy - Kurunegala main road.
In 1922, the management was changed from the Buddhist Theosophical Society to the Y.M.B.A. and Dr H.K.T Zilva became the new manager.
In 1927 the name of the school was changed to its present name as "Maliyadeva College". In the same year, the Students' Hostel was opened with fifteen boarding students.
Mr U.B Wanninayaka[1](who later became a politician and government Minister) was appointed as the Principal in 1930.
In 1934, a batch of students from the Maliyadeva College appeared for the S.S.C Examination (equivalent to current G.C.E O/L) for the first time. Mr E.S Balasooriya was the first student to pass this examination.
By 1936, the number of students has increased to a level that the premises at Ethkanda Viharaya was not big enough. So the school was moved to its current location along the Negombo- Kurunegala road. The land was owned by Madawala Disawa and bought by Mr H.K.T de Zilva.
Mr P de S Kularatne was appointed as the manager in 1941. He changed the status of the school in to a mixed school.
Due to the ongoing second world war, the school buildings and land was taken over by the Army in 1942. The school had to be shifted back to its previous location at Ethkanda Viharaya. The number of students had increased to over three hundred and sixty by this period.
Primary section of the school was moved to a new location along Colombo - Kurunegala road in 1944. This later became the Maliyadeva Girls' College.
In 1946 the school was handed back to the Y.M.B.A by the Army. Only the boys were moved back. Maliyadeva Girls' College commenced functioning as a separate school. In the same year the Maliyadeva college became a government assisted school. By this time, the number of students had increased to 800.
In 1949, the school was upgraded to the status of a "Grade 1 school in the island.University Entrance (Arts) and S.S.C (equivalent to current G.C.E O/L)Science classes were commenced. Mr D.B Dissanayaka was appointed as the Vice-Principal during this year.
In 1951, students appeared for the University Entrance (Arts) and S.S.C (Science) Examinations for the first time. Mr T.B.H Abeysinghe was the first student to enter the University from Maliyadeva College. Later Mr Abeysinghe rose to the position of Professor of History.
University Entrance (Science) classes were commenced in 1953. Mr Wanigasekara was the first graduate science teacher appointed to the school.In 1955 Mr.A.P.K.Thilakarathna was first student who pass the S.S.C(Science)Examinations for the first time.
According to the Education Policy of the incumbent government, the status of the school changed from "Government Assisted" school to a "Government" school in 1961 during the "take over" of all Assisted schools. The Y.M.B.A willingly handed the school over to the Ministry of Education.
From 1961 to 1980 , the Maliyadeva College developed to become the most popular educational institution in the North-West region and one of the finest schools in the whole country. It developed a well structured curricular and extra-curricular programs and sports including Cricket, Rugby, Hockey, Basket ball, Badminton, Wrestling, Cadeting and Scouting.
In the field of aesthetics Maliyadeva had won the All Island awards in oriental music and orchestra competitions for many years consecutively. During this period, the service given to the school by Mr Dayapala as the Music teacher was tremendous.
1979 saw an end of an era as Mr D.B Dissanayake retired after serving the school fourteen years as the principal.
By 1985, the number of students had risen to Three Thousand. The school was upgraded to the status of a "National School" by the Ministry of Education under the reorganization of schools.
- (Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107, [2]). Written by using Lakshman Bandara's article.
The Facilities Today
Today the school provides the students with so many facilities. It consists of 2 play grounds (one with a specially made cricket turf); a basket-ball court; a swimming pool (under constructions); two children’s parks (for the primary section); two computer labs with more than 75 modern computers; a medical centre (which all the medicine & treatments are given free of charge for the students); a dental centre; a saloon; a two storied shrine (in which a monk lives all the 365 days of the year); a gymnasium; a library; well equipped botanical, zoological, physical & chemical labs; a hostel; two canteens; a co-operative shop and many more facilities.
School Anthem
- As the moon shines in the sky,
- long last our mother school,
- with glamour and glory,
- Ignoring the difference,
- religion and cast
- she gives knowledge to everyone,
- making genius people with
- arts, crafts and all the science,
- May long last our mother school
- with honor and reputation like
- the moon in the sky.
Houses
The students are divided into four Houses:
- – Thissa
- – Gemunu
- – Parakrama
- – Rajasingha
The house names are derived from the past kings of Sri Lanka . The houses compete annually in all major games to win the respective inter-house games.
Sports
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Battle of the Rocks
This is the biggest sport event held annually between two schools in North Western province, Sri Lanka.
The cricket match is played between Maliyadeva College & St. Anne's College once a year in Welagedara Stadium. The winner of the 2-day test match is presented with the Janaka Bogollagama Trophy. An one-day macth between the two is played after that. It's a contest with great significance.
This encounter has a very long history, but had to stop the match in some little periods of times in between, for various reasons. This year(2009) the two schools met for the 29th time.
See the Battle of the Rocks article for more information.
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Clubs and Societies
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Past Principals
| Name | Entered Office | Departed Office |
|---|---|---|
| Mr T.B Madawala | ||
| Mr W.G De Silva | ||
| Mr A.B.Arur | ||
| Mr U.B Wanninayaka | ||
| Mr D.B Dissanayake | ||
| Mr W.A Jayathilake | ||
| Mr M.B Pethiyagoda | ||
| Mr D.B Dissanayake | ||
| Mr G.M.K Pathiaja | ||
| Mr H.B Wijekoone | ||
| Mr B.G Chandrasekara | ||
| Mr A.M.B Aberathne | ||
| Mr A.V Ranasinghe | ||
| Mr S.M.J.B Senevirathne | ||
| Mr R.M.M Rathnayake |
Notable alumni
Educational Achievements
Advanced Level Examination(A\L)
| Name | Year | Island Rank | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| K.L.J.Jayaranga | |||
| B.M.W.S.Balasooriya | |||
| W.M.B.S.Wijerathne | |||
| H.Dulip Bandara Piyarathne | |||
| R.M.A.P.Rathnayake | |||
| S.M.A.Jayawardane | |||
| S.N.Endaragalla |
Ordinary Level Examination(O\L)
| Name | Year | Island Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Pasan Wijesinghe | ||
| W.M.B.S.Wijerathne |
Other Educational Achievement
- 1996 : Mr. A.Pallegedara won the fourth place in All Island Chemistry Quiz competition.
- 2000: Mr. H.D.B.Piyarathne won the third place in All Island Chemistry Quiz held by Australian Chemistry Association.
- 2001-2002 : Mr. S.M.A.Siriwardena was the Champion in All Island Chemistry Quiz
- 2002 Mr. H.M.C.M.B. Abeysinghe, who was among the four -member Sri Lankan team at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) held in Korea[7]
- 2003: Mr. Sumudu Samarakoon was the champion of Mathematics Competition organized by Ananda College.
- 2004: Mr. Nuwan Ganganath was the champion of Inter‐School Mathematics Competition organized by Royal College, Colombo.
- 2004: Mr. Sumudu Samarakoon was selected to represent srilanka at the 45th IMO held in Athens Greece.[8]
- Chethiya Abeysinghe IOI Team member in 2002-Korea (Bronze), 2003-USA (Bronze), 2004-Greece (Bronze), 2005-Poland (Bronze), 2006-Mexico (Bronze), 2007-Croatia (Silver).[9]
SLNIO 2001, 2002 (U15 champion) CSSL National Competition 2002 (Champion), 2003 (Champion), 2004 (2nd place) SEARCC Competition 2003, 2004[10]
- 2005 Mr. Nuwan Ganganath was selected to represent Sri Lanka at 36th International Physics Olympiad held in Spain and awarded as the Best Participant from the countries which joined the IPhO in the last three years.[11]
- 2007 Mr. Buddhi Wejerathna was The first ever Olympiad medal for Physics won by a Sri Lankan student,8th Asian Physics Olympiad, China-Bronze Medal
- 2008 Mr. Chathumin Gunarathna won was the 3rd place of All Island TV Quiz organised by the SEC.[12]