The early years of the Ceylon University College and its impact on higher education in Ceylon

by Hugh Karunanayake

Sri Lanka, known during the time of British rule as Ceylon, had a long tradition of education including higher education through the religion of the island’s inhabitants who were mainly Buddhists. Buddhism was taught in Pirivenas ( places of religious education) through many centuries prior to the foreign occupation of the island’s coastal areas. With the conquest of the island by the British, the English language became the official language and that saw the gradual decline in imporatance of the Sinhala and Tamil languages.

It also saw the emergence of a western oriented ethos dominating the social and cultural life of the Ceylonese. Education, however was almost confined to urban areas utilizing the meagre staffing resources available throughout the island. For almost a. century after the British conquest, the need for a system of tertiary education was not articulated nor seen as important.

It was Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam who first raised the issue of a University for Ceylon, way back in the eighteen nineties through the Ceylon University Association of which he was President. Prior to the establishment of the Ceylon University College in 1921, the pursuit of tertiary education was through study by enrolment in British Universities or through external studies leading to a degree from the Calcutta University.

Access to formal tertiary education was thus restricted to the wealthy sections of the population. Sir Ponnambalam who benefitted from a university education in England, was also influenced by eastern ideals in education of which little was known. He stated in 1937 that “we would do well to remember that the Universities of Europe owed their origin to the impulse from the East given to Europe during the Crusades of the 11th and 12th Centuries.”

It was his contention that the famous early European Universities of Paris, Salerno, and Bologna had their source in the great Mohamedan Universities which extended from Samarkand and Bokharato, Fez, and Cordova. The latter were not however the earliest seats of oriental culture, that honour belonging to the widespread influence of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist universities in various parts of India including Nalanda.

Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was the principal promoter of the university project, and saw through the initial stage of establishment of the University College, and was a member of the new University Council, but sadly passed away in India on January 10, 1924.

The project for the establishment of a University in Ceylon did not move much until 1911 when the governor Sir Henry Mc Callum appointed a Committee to inquire into the situation of secondary and higher education in the island. The Committee recommended, inter alia, that a University College be established, in which higher education in the island should be concentrated. Governor Mc Callum adopted the Committee’s recommendations which included the foillowing:

That a University College be established in Ceylon;

That it be called the Ceylon University College;

That in the first place, it should be organized so as to provide for;

Higher education, generally,

Courses in Arts and Science for teachers in training: and

Preliminary training of medical students in Chemistry, Physics, and Biology.

That hostels be provided by Government and be leased by the government to different religious bodies.

The proposals were submitted to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and the Board of Education in England who referred back the question of locality of the proposed College, and the status and scope of studies for the attention of the Government of Ceylon. Sir Robert Chalmers who succeeded Sir Henry Mc Callum as Governor of Ceylon, considered these issues and made further submissions to the Secretary of State. The main features of his proposed scheme included the following:

A University College was to be established in Colombo

Initially the body was to grant diplomas, and later to be converted into a degree granting University.

The college to be affiliated to an English University, preferably Oxford;

The Royal College buildings were to be utilized and adapted for the new institutions;

The principal to be an Administrative Officer and should not hold a Professorship.

Other recommendations relating to the proposed curriculum, residential character of the institution, the establishment of a Council, the conduct of examinations, and for courses to be open to women, were also submitted.

Progress with the University project was hampered by the onset of World War 1. In 1917 provision was made in the annual estimates for a new building for Royal College during the tenure of Sir William Manning as Governor. Although work commenced in 1919, progress was slow. The Government purchased “Regina Walauwwa” on Thurstan Road which was to be adapted for lecture rooms, and the project for a University College was finally on its way.

Meanwhile the Royal College buildings were seen as more suitable for the University and the school assisted with funds for constructing its own its buildings on Racecourse Avenue.

The University College was formally declared open on January 24, 1921 under the direction of Mr E Evans the acting Director of Education. At the beginning of the second academic year, 1921-22, Mr Robert Marrs assumed office as Principal of the University College. The student roll during the first year was 166 which gradually increased to 540 by 1935.

The University was to be overseen by a Council and an Academic Committee. There were 14 Departments viz English under Prof EFC Ludowyk, Classics; Prof S Whitely, Maths Prof C Suntheralingam, Modern History and Economics: Prof SA Pakeman, Philosophy: Prof Robert Marrs, Geography: Lecturer A Ginige; French and German: Visiting Lecturer Rev PL Jansz, Sanskrit, Pali, and Sinhalese: Lecturer GP Malalasekera, Tamil: Lecturer R Kanapathipillai; Physics Prof JP Andrews; Chemistry; Prof A Kandiah, Botany: Prof NG Ball, Zoology: Lecturer DRR Burt; and Librarian RS Enright.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

The overall management of the University College was to be under the aegis of the University College Council, presided over by His Excellency the Governor and consisting of a group of eminent persons. The operations of the College was under the Academic Committee consisting of Senior Professors representing the various faculties.

GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIPS

There were 358 students who graduated with First or Second class Honours during the period 1921 to 1935. Government University Scholarships of the annual value of GBP 300 tenable for two years together with an outfit allowance and a second class passage to the British Isles was awarded to scholars selected on merit. There were 68 University Scholarships awarded during the period 1922 to 1935. Scholars were chosen from the different faculties according to their performance at the final examination.

SCHOLARS

Scholars during the period 1922 and 1935 were;

Arts

SF Amerasinghe, G de Zoysa, G Rajadurai, POS Silva, K Alvapillai, CW Amerasinghe, EFC Ludowyk, V Thuraisamy pillai, CE Rubesinghe, DGL Misso, VSM de Mel, AMA Azeez, ATA de Souza, and GP Tambyah

Mathematics

RH Wickremesinghe, P Navaratnarajah, WSA Goonesekera, T Sivapragasam, PH Wickremesinghe, L Jayasundera, M Kidnapillai, MLD Caspersz, HC Goonewardena, A Vaitilingam.

ENGINEERING:

KRajasuntheram, CBP Perera, TE Tweed, RHVM Asaipillai, WD Guneratne, RA Wijeyekoon, WJA Van Langanberg, HE Seneviratne, S Nicholas, EOE Pereira, BW Rubesinghe, VC de Silva, GD Somasunderam, T Sivaprakasapillai, C Rasiah, NS wIckremesinghe, DP Jayasera, SBL Perera, LH Sumanadasa.

SCIENCES

S Nadaraser, PA Pillai, M Balasunderam, HE Peiris, AW Mailvaganam, W Fernando, M Fernando, BA Baptist, AA Hoove, NG Baptist.

AGRICULTURE OR FORESTRY

C Suntheralingam, MM Kumarakulasingham, WVD Peiris, MLM Salgado, CH Holmes, AV Richards, RA De Rosayro

ORIENTAL LANGUAGES

EW Adikaram, K Kanapathipillai, JV Fonseka, COH deAWijeseykera;PBF Wijeratne, P Kandiah.

CAREER CHOICE OF SCHOLARS

Many of the scholars after grauation entered the Ceylon Civil Service, while others chose the Academic route becoming members of the University teaching staff, others sought careers in their chosen profession, law, engineering and applied sciences.

What is significant however, is that the post WW2 administration of the country was largely dominated by alumni of the Ceylon University College. Post WW2 Ceylon coincided largely with the initial years of independence from the country’s metropolitan power, Great Britain. Whether or not the country would have managed its new found political independence without the involvement of suitable admnistrators is a question that begs itself.

The Ceylon University College was the precursor to the University of Ceylon established after the country became independent. Whether the transformation could have been managed more efficiently could only be in the realms of conjecture. However, the University College has more than acquitted itself in its response to the mandate given to it, and also provided a solid foundation for tertiary education in modern Ceylon.