Sri Lanka is a country where the main religion is Buddhism. Many of the citizens are Buddhists. The Buddhist culture was established in Sri Lanka between 307 to 267 BCE. King Devanampiyathissa took the pioneer steps to spread the religion all across the country. And the religion was introduced by Arahat Mahinda and Sanghamitra Arhant There.
Since then, Sri Lankans followed Theravāda Buddhism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theravada. Along with that, the belief systems, the lifestyles and even the ruling systems of the people started to change. With this education systems emerged and Buddhist temples become the main education hubs.
The initiation of Buddhist Schools
When the Europeans started to rule the country, Christianity and Roman Catholicism started to spread. And the Buddhists rulers were having the fright that Buddhism will vanish from society. So, they established different societies and schools to reinstate and protect the religion along with the culture embedded with Buddhism.
The Buddhist schools mainly focused on teaching the facts in Buddhism. The first Buddhist school was Jinalabdhi Vishodaka which was established in Nineteen Sixty Nine. Since then, many Buddhist schools emerged.
The Schools
- Ananda Central College
- Ananda College
- Buddhist Ladies’ College
- Dharmapala Vidyalaya Pannipitiya
- Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte
- Ananda Sastralaya, Matugama
- Dharmaraja College Kandy
- Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda
- Kalutara Vidyalaya National School
- Kegalu Vidyalaya
- Kottawa Dharmapala Maha Vidyalaya
- Mahamaya Girls’ College, Kandy
- Mahanama College Colombo
- Mahinda College Galle
- Maliyadeva College Kurunagala
- Maliyadeva Girls’ College Kurunagala
- Musaeus College Colombo
- Nalanda College, Colombo
- Nalanda Maha Vidyalaya, Elpitiya
- President’s College, Maharagama
- Nalanda (Boys’) Central College
- Nalanda (Girls’) Central College
- Pushpadana Girls’ College, Kandy
- Rahula College Matara
- Rathnavali Balika Vidyalaya, Gampaha
- Sanghamitta Balika Vidyalaya
- Sri Punyarathana Dhamma School
- Sri Rahula College, Kandy
- Sujatha Vidyalaya Matara
- Tissa Central College Kalutara
- Sri Sumangala College Panadura
- Sri Sumedha Maha Vidyalaya, Malimbada
- Vidyartha College Kandy
- Vijayaba National College Mahawa
- Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo
- Wickramabahu Central College Gampola
Today, most of these schools are government national schools privileging a large number of students in Sri Lanka. They are still in the process of educating young ladies and gentlemen adhering to the Buddhist culture and values that still exist in society.
