Deyata Kirula

Moulding youngsters with knowledge:

Ruwanthi Abeyakoon

BMICH was like a beehive from February 4. Deyata Kirula, the National Development and Educational exhibition attracted crowds from far corners of the land.

Among the massive crowd, teenagers clad in their school uniforms were seen with teachers walking all over the place. They were awed at the displays of the exhibition and were enjoying every moment of it.

It was wonderful to see them taking down notes and listening attentively to the explanations. Some teenagers told the Daily News Teen their ideas of the exhibition.

Malan Deepathi Edirisinghe, 18, of Mahanama College said it was a good experience.

“I have never been to such a massive exhibition before. This is the first time that I had such an experience. It

 gave a lot of knowledge and I learnt lot of new things. In school we do the theory but here we get the practical knowledge,” Malan said.

“The exhibition is educational. We had the opportunity of learning lot of things. The experience I got was fabulous. We have never seen the weapons and military equipment. Today we got the chance to see all these. This gave a good insight to many things that pass unnoticed,” Chamara Rajapakshe, 18, said.

Two teenagers from Sirimavo Bandaranaike Balika Vidyalaya joined to express their ideas after walking all over the premises.

“The exhibition develops patriotism. We also had a chance to forward our comments to the President. We have never had a chance like that before so it was good. I feel that this kind of thing should not be restricted only to Colombo. If this can go around the country it will bring more benefits specially to those who cannot come to Colombo,” Hansi Gunasinghe, 16, said.

Her friend Udari Weerasekera, 16, said they learnt a lot through this exhibition. “We understood how the Forces

 face the difficult situations in North and East. We could ask questions and those who were in charge explained well. We sat for the O/L exam last year and this exhibition enhanced our knowledge. I think it is wise to have something like this,” Udari said.

Damith Suranga, and Gayan Mihiranga, 17, had come to the exhibition all the way from Anuradhapura. “The exhibition is good. We also have a stall here. We have a variety of exhibits especially from agricultural sector. It is very important to have an exhibition like this. It helps us a lot to improve our knowledge and gain new experience,” Damith explained.

Gayan Mihiranga 17, studies at Eppawala Central College. He said coming for the exhibition enriched his knowledge. “It is very useful. It is worth the time we spent coming here all the way from Anuradhapura. Around 25 came from Anuradhapura. We came on February 3. It is important for school children. I enjoyed a lot,” Gayan said.

Sagara Ishantha, 18, of Kadawatha Central College said the Forces’ stalls interested him the most.

“I enjoyed each and every stall. I got a good knowledge. But I enjoyed the Forces’ stalls the most. We saw several military items and it was great.

I have never come before for such a huge exhibition. There were lots of things to see. It was wonderful,” he said.

Nirosh Lakshitha, 18, led students from his school to the exhibition.

“We came for the exhibition during school hours with a master. We knew it is going to be good. We not only learnt but also saw the new advancements in several sectors. It helps us in our studies,” Nirosh said.

“We learnt a lot. It was very useful. We enjoyed the displays of Air Force, Army and Navy. Only difficulty was entering the premises. If there was a special entrance for students it would have been better,” said Maheel Chathuranga, 18, and Ashan Thushara, 18.

Priyangika Jayasinghe said the exhibition was interesting. “There were lots of people from other cities. It shows that it is worth coming for the exhibition. The people in charge explained everything well. I learnt many important things through the exhibition,” she said.

Milani Reyhart, 19, had come from Galle to see the exhibition. “I learnt a lot. It also gave us new experience. The media stalls were interesting. We spent about two hours in the queue. If we had a separate entrance we could have spent that time learning something new,” Milani explained.

Although there were difficulties in entering the premises because of the massive crowd, all these teenagers agreed that they educated themselves through this exhibition. Even in the latter part of the day we saw thousands of students walking in with their parents. The purpose of the exhibition, to mould youngsters with knowledge proved to be a success.

Pictures by Sudath Nishantha

Top marks for Lankan students

University of Cambridge International (CIE) - Awards Ceremony-2006:

WINNERS: The University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) Awards Ceremony was held at British Council to felicitate all High Achievers at the June 2006 examinations.

Three students from Lyceum International School, Nugegoda had obtained the highest marks in the world for Literature in

 English at the June 2006 O/L Cambridge International Examination. This is the first time in Sri Lanka’s history that three Sri Lankan students had come first in the world in this subject and all three students received ‘Top in the World’ Awards.

The students are Raika Hameez, Thilini Pitigalage and Kishan Canagasabey. Lyceum International School Nugegoda also won a number of ‘First in Sri Lanka’ Awards and other subjects. The students who won these awards were Rajni Gamage in English Language and Sisith Aryaratne in Biology and Chemistry.

Lyceum International School, also took away the First in Sri Lanka’ Awards in three more subjects. Umanga Withange was First in Business Studies and Jayam Micheal Silva in Physics and Mathematics respectively.