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Education Ministry denies Devi Balika relocation

05 May 2021

 

  • Says 5 new A/L classes to be added in Udahamulla Wijerama Maha Vidyalaya

  • Old girls oppose Cabinet paper

    Responding to concerns raised about the proposed relocation of a section of the Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo, to Udahamulla, the Ministry of Education claimed that no such relocation of any section of the original school premises would take place. Speaking to The Morning, Ministry of Education Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera said that the Devi Balika Vidyalaya would not be relocated in any way and that five new classes for the school’s General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A/L) section would open in the premises of the Wijerama Maha Vidyalaya, Udahamulla. “There would be no relocation of the school as all the classes in the Devi Balika Vidyalaya’s original premises would be there. Five new classes would be started for the GCE A/L science section in the Udahamulla premises in order to allow more A/L students to enter the school.” Prof. Perera said that about 2,000 applications are received by the Devi Balika Vidyalaya for its A/L biology and mathematics streams, and that at present, the school is only able to accommodate about 200 students. He said that businessman Dhammika Perera is making a donation for the premises of the Wijerama Maha Vidyalaya to be developed to accommodate the additional A/L classrooms of the Devi Balika Vidyalaya. When queried about the current students of the Wijerama Maha Vidyalaya and whether the school is going to be closed down, Prof. Perera said that the students would be admitted to the Christian Missionary School in Nawala (C.M.S.). “The C.M.S. is a national school and all the students would be admitted to that. Dhammika Perera has also agreed to provide school transport for these students for two years. If they want any other school, they can request that too.” The Wijerama Maha Vidyalaya is located in a 4.5-acre land and it currently has a student population of 71 students, it is reported. Following initial plans to merge the Wijerama Maha Vidyalaya with the Mahamaya Balika Vidyalaya, Nugegoda, Minister of Education Prof. G.L. Peiris revealed plans on merging the Devi Balika Vidyalaya with the Wijerama Maha Vidyalaya. However, the Devi Balika Vidyalaya Surakeeme Sanvidanaya (the Organisation to Protect the Devi Balika Vidyalaya), which consists of past pupils of the school, had alleged that a cabinet paper that had been presented, seeking to relocate the A/L mathematics and science stream classes of the school to Udahamulla. Rejecting this claim, Prof. Perera said that the cabinet paper does not seek to relocate any part of the school. “This is a wrong perception. The cabinet paper is only to open additional classes for the school.”  The Devi Balika Vidyalaya Surakeeme Sanvidanaya Secretary Nilochana Shrimali had claimed in a press release that while Dhammika Perera had offered Rs. 100 million to develop the school, a cabinet paper has been submitted by Prof. Peiris, proposing the relocation of the Devi Balika Vidyalaya’s A/L mathematics and biology sections to Udahamulla. “We are of the opinion that the development of any stream should be done within the Devi Balika Vidyalaya itself in Sri Jayewardenepura. It is always possible to construct a multi-storey building and to increase classroom facilities for the science and maths streams.” Attempts to contact the Devi Balika Vidyalaya Surakeeme Sanvidanaya for further comments proved futile.


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