History

Rama Krishna Mission Sri Koneswara Hindu College is one of the famous schools in the Trincomalee District, Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Shining as a successful educational institution, the college has been fulfilling the mission of the educational aspirations of the community.

A successful educational institution is not only a center for providing education. It can be seen as a symbol of the community’s personality, potential, and development in which it operates. It also contributes to developing and maintaining language, religion, culture, and traditions. We are all proud that the Trincomalee Rama Krishna Mission Sri Koneswara Hindu College is functioning well today with one hundred and twenty-five years of history with such identities and social status. It is necessary to know some references to the college’s history and development, growing us.

Establishment – Initial stage (1897 – 1924)

We can see the beginning of Ramakrishna Mission Sri Koneswara Hindu College, Trincomalee, in the late 19th century. Evidence suggests that the college was established around 1897. Initially, the college was started as a small school by some Hindu religious elders who lived in the city. Due to the selfless service of the teachers who worked with a sacrificial mind, the college was alive and well as a primary school in its early stage.

In 1922 the college was officially registered as a primary school by the government. The school was managed by a board of directors consisting of Hindu religious elders valued in the community. Initially, the college functioned under the same administration as two divisions, Hindu Boys’ Tamil School and Hindu Boys’ English School. It is noteworthy that English language education was in the school before Swami Vipulananda took charge of the school in 1925. Mr V.Thambaiya from Valvettithurai, Jaffna, was the Headmaster of the Hindu Boys’ Tamil School for an extended period from 1910 to 1922. Mr Arumugam and Mr Paramasamy have also served as the headmasters of the Hindu Boys’ Tamil school. During the same period, the following persons had served as headmasters in the Hindu Boys’ English school.

1. Mr.E.Masilamani – Trincomalee
2. Mr.P.Velayuthampillai – Trincomalee
3. Mr.S.U.Kanakasabapathy – Batticaloa
4. Mr.Ramakrishna Iyer (BA) – India
5. Mr.K.Govindachari (BA) – India

Management period of the Rama Krishna Mission (1925 – 1961)

1925 was an important year of the school. This year, Swami Vipulanandar took charge of the school on behalf of the Ramakrishna Mission. The return of Swami Vibulanandar to Sri Lanka as a monk of Ramakrishna Mission in 1924 marked the beginning of a new era in the educational history of the Eastern Province of Srilanka. Swami’s great interest in the educational development of Hindu schools should be inscribed in the classic writings of history.

Many schools in the Eastern Province began to benefit from Swami’s deep wisdom, his broad experience with educational problems, and his progressive, positive thinking. The people of the Eastern Province received an excellent educational thinker and guide. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he started his first education at the Trincomalee Hindu College after Swami’s return from India.

 Swami Vipulanandar took over the school’s management in 1925 after the Board of Management headed by Mr C. Vallipuram Pillai Mudaliar decided to hand over the school to the Ramakrishna Mission. The Swami took over the school on 01^st June 1925. The Hindu English School and the Hindu Tamil School saw rapid growth under the direct administration of Swami Vipulanandar. The number of students also increased. New buildings were also built.

 When Swami Vipulanandar took over the schools, there was only one building for each Tamil and English school. These buildings do not have adequate accommodation for students. Thus Swami and the teachers went to the general public and raised funds to buy the land next to the school to set up a school building. Most of the funds were provided by Mr Kaliyappu from Thambalagamam. The new hall, built with the funds thus raised, was inaugurated in 1927 by Sir Herbert Stanley, Governor. This hall was later named Kaliyappu Hall.

The hall, built-in 1933 in memory of Mr P.K. Sampanthar, a Hindu English school teacher, was inaugurated by Mr V. Kumaraswamy, then Governor of the Eastern Province. Mr.M.K. Chandis(a British), Assistant Government Agent of Trincomalee, was also present at the opening ceremony.

Swami Vipulanandar has rendered invaluable services to the development of the school since he became the Manager of the school. Swami was an excellent teacher in teaching science subjects and was interested in improving science education. He is the one who set up the science laboratory facility at the school, and while no other schools in Trincomalee District had the facilities of a science laboratory. Swami also made it possible for students to take the London Cambridge Senior Examination during his tenure.

When Swami Vipulanandar worked in this school, Mr K. Ramasamy Iyer (IUDU), Mr Narasimhar and Mr Nambiar were the headmasters. All of them are from India. Mr K. Ramasamy Iyer later left the school and worked as the Chief Translator in the Department of Education (Colombo).

Pandit Mr S. Poopalapillai and Mr K. Ganapathipillai from Batticaloa are worked as the Headmasters of the Hindu Tamil School.

Swami Vipulanandar, who has been the Manager since 1925, accepted the post of Principal in 1928 in order to focus his attention on the development of the school. He served as Principal until July 1930 and then took over the responsibility of looking after all the schools under the Ramakrishna Mission and handed over the post of Principal to Mr P. Ramachandra AU (RJL).

In 1932, the college was upgraded to a senior, intermediate standard. The school’s growth, which had stalled with lofty ambitions in the warmth of the Ramakrishna Mission, was halted during the Second World War from 1940 to 1945. During the war, the school buildings were taken over by the military; therefore, during this time, the English school was operating temporarily in a small rented house and the Tamil school elsewhere. Back in 1945, the college started operating in its buildings. Subsequently, the college began to receive help from alumni and admirers and such aid repaired buildings damaged by the military.

In due course of time, the Hindu Boys’ English School grew into the leading college in the district under the name of Hindu College. Hindu Boys’ Tamil School started with Koneswara Vidyalayam and emerged as the best school in the district for primary and secondary education.

In 1942, the Alumni Association set up two large classrooms for the Hindu College. In 1947 Mr L.H. Haradasa erected a library building in memory of his late father, Norris de Silva. This library building was inaugurated in 1947 by the then Minister of Education, Mr Nugawela. The adjoining land was acquired for the needs of the growing number of students, and a building with four classrooms was erected on it. Scientific laboratories were streamlined, and new tools and equipment were set up.