A question of values

The Head Master of S Thomas’ Preparatory School, Kollupitiya, N Y Casie Chetty said Christian values and market values do not mix and are wholly incompatible, ‘but the issue of attracting competent teachers to man our staff is a vexed question which defies an easy solution.’

The Head Master was speaking at the Prize Day held at the college auditorium recently.

Extracts of the speech:

It would be evident to any impartial observer, who is assessing the impact of Christian missionary activity in our island that the single most influential contribution made in post-colonial society in Sri Lanka has been the advent of the Christian missionary schools. Following British colonial rule which commenced in 1796, many educational institutions were established by the various Christian denominations through their missionary arms in the 19th century.

“Anglican missionary activity was carried out through organizations such as the United Society for Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) and the Christian Missionary Society (CMS) founded schools such as S.Thomas’ and Bishop’s Colleges, Trinity College and Hillwood College in Kandy, Ladies College in Colombo, St John’s College, Jaffna and Chundikuli Girls College in Jaffna, to mention a few.

The Methodist Mission established such notable schools as Newstead College, Negombo, Methodist College and Wesley College in Colombo whilst the Baptist Missionary Society was responsible for schools such as Carey College.

“There were several excellent schools founded in Jaffna by American Missionaries such as Jaffna College Vadukkodai. This was all part of the growth of Church Schools which dominated the educational landscape of Sri Lanka during the era of British colonial rule. It would be a singular failure on my part to ignore referring to the Roman Catholic Church schools such as St Joseph’s and St Peter’s College, St Benedict’s and St.Bridget’s Convent to mention just some.

He said that during colonial rule up to 1948, when our nation gained its political independence from the British, “the schools I have mentioned were at the very apex of our educational firmament. Even subsequent to independence, until the introduction of the ‘Open Economy’ post 1977 and the creation of market forces, our Church Schools were greatly sought after. It could be stated without equivocation that the Church Schools were able to attract the best and the brightest, the committed and most dedicated of educationists and teachers in our country. Teaching in one of these premier educational institutions was much coveted and highly prized. The ‘Open Economy’ changed this secure and cosy landscape forever.

“The growth of materialism has made rapid strides since 1977 in our island home and one of the primary casualties has been the educational structure which existed. In the event, managing our existing institutions coupled with providing a sound education of high quality in an atmosphere conducive to the children in our care, is being rendered ever more challenging.

“Making education exorbitant and prohibitively expensive would surely sound the death knell of our Church Schools, as we would have forfeited our Christian mission and values thereby losing the moral argument for our continuance. The cry of our critics would find justifiable resonance with a broad spectrum of those persons who would be affected by such a move,” he said.