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| Thursday, 20 November 2003 |
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A dedicated teacher retires "Please don't disturb the public examination. You may hold your meetings after 4 p.m., when the examination is over". This is a note sent by the Supervisor of the GCE O/L examination at Thanamalvila in the Moneragala district some time back. The meeting was to be started after 4 p.m. But they started yelling from 3 p.m. The supervisor was helpless. He sent a note to the police and disconnected the loudspeaker. It was a political meeting. The meeting was held just across the grounds of the school. The children were miserably disturbed. However, the police took prompt action and the examination was carried on in a peaceful atmosphere. This is the stern step taken by a dedicated teacher. He is none other than Mr. Parakrama Abeygunawardene who retires after 45 years of service in the teaching profession. A dedicated teacher's service does not limit to the classroom. It spreads to the whole school and perhaps crosses the boundaries and reaches the society at large. He teaches the younger generation to be honourable citizens who would take on the burdens of society and sometimes the reins of the country. Dedication to work is Parakrama's main theme and he had devoted himself working in several schools in the island. Parakrama started his early education at Rahula College, Matara which gave him the impetus to do an honourable service as a teacher and a social worker. After school work, Parakrama activated himself in Teacher Trade Union work through the Ceylon Teachers' Union and became a Vice President of the Parent Union and also the President of the Matara Branch of the CTU. Realising and appreciating his services, a Minister of Education had summoned him to his office and asked him to sign some papers for a promotion. He thanked the minister and flatly refused his offer and went back to the school. I remember several times he was victimised by the government and made to serve in difficult areas such as Moneragala. He was never shaken by these punishments but gathered more and more courage to face the challenges confronting the teaching profession. At one time, the government held the Siya Vasa exhibition to mark the progress of education. Parakrama and his colleagues countered the exhibition by holding the Guru Duka exhibition to demonstrate the untold grievances of teachers. This was a great success and he organised a special exhibition in the Matara town too to expose the problems of teachers and also of education in general. Later Parakrama joined his Alma Mater, Rahula College, as a teacher and there he devoted his leisure time for classroom and school work. He was unanimously elected secretary of the Old Boys' Union almost at the time of a turmoil in the management affairs. The most significant fact is that he was able to move cordially with the rival factions mostly the politicians of the various groups to bring them to a common understanding for the development of Rahula. Parakrama, a silent worker, always wore a smile on his face to ease various difficult situations that arose in the OBU. The Rahulians are ever grateful to this beloved and dedicated teacher. Since joining St. Thomas College in Mount Lavinia, Parakrama continued to render his service in the same manner as he did at Rahula. He is the proud father of a son and a daughter, of whom the son is a medical doctor at the National Hospital in Colombo and the daughter is just completing her Environmental Science Degree at the Colombo University. His beloved wife is now retired from teaching. I wish him a happy retired life. - A. B. C. de Silva, Former President, Ceylon Teachers' Union and President of the Sri Lanka Teachers' Union Federation. |
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