Osmania College
| Osmania College | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
Muslim College Road , | |
| Coordinates | 9°40′41.60″N 80°00′20.90″E / 9.6782222°N 80.0058056°E |
| Information | |
| School type | Public provincial 2 |
| School district | Jaffna Education Zone |
| Authority | Northern Provincial Council |
| School number | 1001025 |
| Teaching staff | 13 |
| Grades | 1-11 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age range | 5-16 |
| School roll | 151 |
| Language | Tamil |
Osmania College is a provincial school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.[1] It was once a prominent educational institution for the city's Muslim community.[2][3]
History
Osmania College, located in Jaffna's Moor Town suburb, conducted classes ranging from kindergarten to Advanced Level.[4] In 1980 it had roughly 800 students.[3] By 1990 it had grown to 1,800.[4] It closed in 1990 after the expulsion of Muslims from Northern Province by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; the city's Muslims were told to gather at the college on 30 October 1990, and then given two hours to leave, with only the clothes on their backs and Rs 50 in cash.[5] Afterwards, the school buildings were destroyed in fighting due to the Sri Lankan Civil War, and furniture was looted.[4]
Reopening
With the resettlement of Muslim families back into Jaffna, Osmania College reopened in 2003, but without facilities for holding lessons.[6] By 2005, it had grown to 200 students, up to the Ordinary Level; teachers held classes on the ground floor of single, crumbling building which remained of the former campus.[4] However, as suspicions grew that the ceasefire would break down, Muslims again left the city, and by early 2006 only 35 students remained at the school.[7] In 2009, Jaffna District member of parliament and Minister of Social Services Douglas Devananda stated that the government would assist in the rebuilding of the college, as part of a wider plan of community resettlement and rebuilding in Jaffna.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Schools Basic Data as at 01.10.2010. Northern Provincial Council. 2010.
- ^ a b Palakidnar, Ananth (15 February 2009). "Mass resettlement of Muslims in Jaffna". Sunday Observer.
- ^ a b Holmes, Walter Robert (1980), Jaffna, Sri Lanka, Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society of Jaffna College, p. 190
- ^ a b c d "Revisiting Jaffna's Moor Town: Coming home?". Sunday Observer. 13 March 2005.
- ^ Rajasingham, K. T. (3 December 2009). "Sri Lanka: Resettling of 100,000 Muslims of the North to commence from 26 December". Asian Tribune.
- ^ "Jaffna Osmania College reopened". TamilNet. 25 September 2003.
- ^ "If war breaks out Tiger 'air force' will attack, says 'Colonel' Banu". Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization. 12 January 2006.