- Maliyadeva College
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Maliyadeva College 
The Motto Vidya Bhushanam Purusha Bhushanam
Pali - (Science is the jewel of man)Location Kurunegala
Sri Lanka
Coordinates 7°29′14″N 80°21′34″E / 7.487357°N 80.359527°ECoordinates: 7°29′14″N 80°21′34″E / 7.487357°N 80.359527°E Information Type Public Established September 30, 1888 Founder Anagarika Dharmapala, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott Principal R.M C.P Rathnayake Grades Class 1 - 13 Gender Boys Age 6 to 19 Enrollment 4000 Campus 16 acres (65,000 m2) Colour(s) Blue, Yellow & Red Pupils Devans Website http://www.maliyadeva.edu.lk/ 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 former/present pupils of Maliyadeva College.
Maliyadeva College Main Building
Contents
History
Colonel H.S. Olcott, founder of Maliyadeva College
Anagarika Darmapala, founder of Maliyadeva College.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 (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.
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- (Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107, United States Code: Title 17,107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use | LII / Legal Information Institute). Written by using Lakshman Bandara's article.
The School Today
Today the school provides the students with many luxurious facilities to do their studies in a healthy environment. It consists of 2 play grounds (one with a specially made cricket turf); a swimming pool; a basket-ball court; 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
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- පායන සඳ අඹරේ ආ....
- පායන සඳ අඹරේ
- ලෙසිනා සැම කල් සුදිලේ මලිදෙව්
- පාසල් මාතා අපේ ආ....
- පායන සඳ අඹරේ
- බේදා ආගම් කුළ මල ඈ
- නොතකා එක සේ සතර බෙදා //
- ශාස්ත්ර කළා සැම විද්යා //
- දත් මහ පඬුවන් බිහි කරවා
- දිනේවා කිතුරැස් විහිදා ලෙසිනා
- පායන සඳ අඹරේ ආ....
- පායන සඳ අඹරේ
- ලෙසිනා සැම කල් සුදිලේ මලිදෙව්
- පාසල් මාතා අපේ
English Translation
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- 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.
School FlagHouses
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
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Chess
- Cricket
- Swimming
- Table Tennis[2]
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Wrestling
- Wushu
Battle of the Rocks
The 29th Battle of the RocksBattle of the Rocks (Maliyadeva vs St. Anne's), the annual Cricket encounter is a prominent sporting event played between two schools in North Western province of Sri Lanka.
The cricket match is played between (Maliyadeva College & St. Anne's College annually at the Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala. The match is played over two days and the winner is presented with the Janaka Bogollagama Trophy. The two day match is followed by a one-day match between the two sides which started in 1992.
The encounter has a long history. However, in certain years, it was not played due to various reasons. The Year 2009 marked the 29th and the 17th of the Battle of the Rocks and the annual limited overs match.
See the Battle of the Rocks article for more information.
.
Clubs and Societies
- Buddhist Association
- Astronomical Society
- Brass Band
- Birds Observation Circle
- Cadets Troop
- Commerce Society
- Devans’ Heritage Club
- Debaters' Council
- English Literary Association
- Globe Club[3]
- Information and Communication Technology Society
- Interact Club
- Media Unit
- Oriental Music Society
- Photographic Association
- Quiz Club
- Red Cross Society
- Science Society
- Maliyadeva Scout Group [4]
- Sinhala Literary Association
- Philatelic Society
- UNESCO Society
- Western Band
- Western Music Society
- Young Inventor's Society
Past Principals
Name Entered Office Departed Office Mr T.B Madawala 1888 - Mr W.G De Silva 1905 - Mr A.B.Arur 1923 1927 Mr U.B Wanninayaka 1930 1949 Mr D.B Dissanayake 1961 1966 Mr W.A Jayathilake 1966 1967 Mr M.B Pethiyagoda 1967 1970 Mr D.B Dissanayake 1970 1979 Mr G.M.K Pathiaja 1979 1982 Mr H.B Wijekoone 1982 1987 Mr B.G Chandrasekara 1987 1989 Mr A.M.B Aberathne 1989 1992 Mr A.V Ranasinghe 1992 1994 Mr S.M.J.B Senevirathne 1995 2001 Mr R.M.M Rathnayake 2002 2010 Mr R.M C.P.K Rathnayake 2011 todate Notable alumni
Main article: List of Maliyadeva College alumniSee also
- Battle of the Rocks
References
- ^ http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=47041[dead link]
- ^ The Sunday Times Sports Section
- ^ http://www.globe.gov/star/LK_Web_site_07?lang=ru&nav=1[dead link]
- ^ http://www.devans.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=77/
External links
Categories:- Educational institutions established in 1888
- National schools in Sri Lanka
- Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka
- Schools in North Western Province, Sri Lanka
- Maliyadeva College
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