 Peradeniya University File photo |
Although he had undertaken and completed a variety of tasks during his illustrious career Peradeniya is undoubtedly his most enduring monument. Visiting Peradeniya in 1962, seven years after he left Sri Lanka having completed his mission and addressing the university teachers who had hosted him for dinner he was to say "..... I hope your university will go on developing and growing. You are heirs of the pioneers of 1952 and I hope you are looking after the property really well in the tradition of all other Universities. You have the foundations here of an excellent University".
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British Empire
The Uniersity of Ceylon, as decided by the State Council on September 30, 1938, was to be unitary, residential and was to be sited at Peradniya, hallowed by memories of a small principality from whence emerged Wimaladharmasuriya I, the founder of the dynasty in Senkadagala Pura, the last bastion of Sri Lankan kingship before it became a colony of the British Empire in 1815. The University of Ceylon founded on July 1, 1942 at the Thurstan Road site in Colombo was shifted to Peradeniya on October 6, 1952. Settled in its site of destiny, Peradeniya grew from strength-to-strength, talking the lead in the creation of new knowledge, the dissemination of knowledge as well as in fulfilling a national mission in the field of the arts. Prof Ediriweera Sarachchandra, who became a household name during his distinguished career as a Peradeniya academic was to write, "If ever a community of young and old sought the tranquility and inspiration of a natural environment in which to engage themselves in the pursuit of knowledge, they could not have found a place where nature was more kindly or more anxious to please them than the valley of Peradeniya."Colombo counterparts
As hoped for by the founder Vice Chancellor, Peradeniya has grown vigorously during the past decades. While there were five faculties during the 1950s, Oriental Studies, Arts, Medicine (in Colombo), Science (in Colombo), Engineering (1950 in Colombo) Agriculture and Veterinary Science (1954), there are eight Faculties in 2011. The growth occurred in stages: the Faculty of Engineering was shifted in to a specially designed site on the left bank of the Mahaweli in 1964.Peradeniya had its own Faculties of Medicine and Science in 1961, both of them separating from the Colombo counterparts with a separate University of Colombo coming up in the 1967. Subsequently, in 1972, there was an amalgamation of Arts and Oriental Studies forming one Faculty of Arts while Agriculture and Veterinary Studies were separated creating the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science in 1980 and in 1986 Medicine and Dental Sciences were separated creating the new Faculty of Dental Sciences. The Faculty of Allied Health Sciences was created in 2006 thus bringing the total number of faculties to eight.
Largest University
The magnitude of the expansion can be seen more clearly in the number of Departments of Study that have come up during this time. In place of the 18 departments in 1942, there are seventy two departments in 2011. Furthermore, there are two post-graduate institutes which are very active and are well known for their academic excellence. The older of them is the Post-graduate Institute of Agriculture and the second is the Post-graduate Institute of Science. In addition there are four Centres catering to various academic needs, namely; The Centre for the Study of Human Rights, The Information Technology Centre, The Centre or Distant and Continuing Education and The Centre for Environmental Studies. All these contribute to make Peradeniya the largest University in the island.When it comes to the production of new knowledge, Peradeniya has again excelled. During the past decades Peradeniya academics have received national and international recognition for their excellent academic achievements and the production of new knowledge and this lead is continuing. At the Annual Research Sessions held on December 16, 2010 there were 268 paper presentations and 30 posters.
Research presentations
It needs mention that this year's research presentations were grouped into nine different inter-disciplinary themes, as opposed to the traditional grouping according to Faculties. The aim of this novel approach, which follows recent global trends and for which Peradeniya is an ideal venue with the Faculties placed in close proximity, better interaction and exchange of ideas and talents will be fostered among staff and students of the different disciplines of all Faculties. Such inter-disciplinary collaboration was visible this time in several instances.Thus Peradeniya is fulfilling its mission " to contribute to the development of a knowledge based society with social sensitivity, ethical rectitude and economic prosperity through education, research, dissemination of knowledge and active participation in national policy formulation and development in an efficiently managed, intellectually stimulating and harmonious university environment". This mission has been accomplished with great success down the years. All the universities that came up in the island subsequently have been manned initially by the alumni of this primary seat of higher learning. And, the administrative, educational and legal structures of post independent Sri Lanka were run most efficiently at the initial stages because of the highly accomplished products of Peradeniya. Peradeniya in many senses remains to date as primus inter pares in the University system in SriLanka.
Daily News - Prof K N O Dharmadasa
