Amidst beautiful mountains, water bodies and nature all around, in the province of Sabaragamuwa and in the district of Kegalle there stands proudly the building of Al-Azhar National School. She is like a mother birdie, who has nestled and nourished thousands of little birdies and has successfully taught them fly on their own. I am being one of her little birdies, feel very proud at this moment to write down her success story.
History and background of Al-Azhar National School
Education was not given prominence in the rural areas like ours during the early 20th century. Therefore, elders in the village decided to overcome this issue by building a school in the village. Late Mr. Yusuf donated his land to build a school building.
Al-Azhar National School began her journey on 1917 March 25th with only 7 students and a teacher in a single building with the name of Wadiyathenna Muhammadhiyya boys ’school. The name of the first student and first teacher are as follows. First teacher was late P. Swamippillai, and the first student was late Mr. Mubarak, who later became a teacher by profession. The school began with only 7 students but with the time students from all 5 villages nearby got admitted and the school evolved to a mixed school. After the school was transformed as a government school the first teacher Late Mr. Swami Pillai, was appointed as the first principal.
remarkable period in the history of Al-Azhar National School
In the year 1928, today’s minister and the leader of Muslim Congress Mr. Rauff Hakeem’s grandfather Mr. Noor Mohammed took charge as the Principal. This was a remarkable period in the history of Al-Azhar. The next year in 1929, Mr. Mubarak, first student of the school began his next phase of life as a teacher at the same school where he started his education. And, he is the first Muslim teacher in the province of Sabaragamuwa. Both the principal and the teacher tried their level best to uplift the education of this area as education was not given much importance during that period.
Yusuf building in Al-Azhar National School
In 1935, a permanent building was gifted by the government and it was named as “Yusuf building.” The name was given in memory of the late Mr. Yusuf who put into action the dream of building a school by providing his land.
The period of 1940’s was a challenging period in the history of Al-Azhar as many new schools were built in the villages nearby. Every village tried to improve the quality of their school which brought drastic changes in the number of students getting admitted to this school. During this period Late Mr.M.H.M Rasheed was appointed as the principal and he managed to bring many positive results. The positive outcomes like increasing the number of student admissions, Making the students sit for the general examination (S.S.C) etc. Moreover, he upgraded the level of school from Vidyalaya to Maha Vidyalaya.
Towards the journey of success…
From 1958-1970
After the changes were made in the teaching and learning process between the years 1958-1962, the first graduate of Kegalle district Mr. Haja Mohammed took charge as the principal of this school in 1963.His skills and abilities along with fluency in all three languages supported him to improve the quality of education at school. Even though the permission was already given to sit for the general examinations, it was during his period that the students were given proper attention and prepared to face the exam with confidence. Furthermore, the students who sat for exams during the period of 1963-1965 got good grades in the Kegalle district.
It has to be mentioned that the period of Mr. Haja Mohammed as the golden era in the history as students were given training to participate in the non-academic activities and they were able to show their talents from province to island level. And, the scouts club was also formed during this period. Following is the full form of AL-AZHAR which was also formed by him.
A – AffectionL – LoyaltyA – AmbitionZ – ZealousH – HonestyA – AchievementR – Religious |
After the above improvements were made in the school, a lot of students wanted to get admitted to this school. A new building in the name of “Bandaranayke building” was presented by the government to increase the number of students’ admission.
Again Mr. Rasheed took charge as the principal after Mr. Haja Mohammed got transferred to another school. During this period another new chapter was added to the pages of AL-Azhar history. It is the commencement of Advanced level classes. In 1969, the first group of students sat for the Advanced level examinations in Arts stream and among them, four of them got university admission which was another proud moment for Mother Azhar. In the same year 1969, the permission was granted to start science stream for Advanced level.
From 1970-1983
In 1971, Late Mr. A. Wahid was appointed as the principal and he took forward the pending works that were already started by the former principal, Mr. Rasheed.1972, was a crucial year in the history of Sri Lanka.Many constitutional changes were brought in the educational sector of the nation. A new method of examination was introduced (N.C.G. E). Our students were also given the opportunity to face this exam. During this period, steps were taken to improve the science laboratory of the school. Many students were given admission to science, arts and commerce streams for Advanced level. With the time, a very good improvement could be noticed in the advanced level results every year.
higher number of transfers in Al-Azhar National School
In this time, Al-Azhar school was not only developed academically but also physically. Many new buildings were built and the playground was also expanded with the funds from the government.
From 1977-1983, this was the period in which a higher number of transfers were given to teachers in the history of Al-Azhar. Following people provided their service as the principal for a shorter period.Mr.S.M Riyal, Mr.Y.I.M Wahhab, Mr.A.R.M Nizar, Mr.M.L.M Makeen, Mr.M.I.M Shareef, Mr.M.S. A Haleem were the principals who contributed as much as they could in safeguarding the quality of the school during their short period of service.
From 1993-2000
the year 1993, is again considered as a golden period in the history of the school. It is the period of Mr.M.J.M Nayeemudeen who served as the principal for nine years. His efforts are talked even today. Moreover he increased the number of students who are getting admission to the universities annually. The school has witnessed the considerable growth in the results of Ordinary level as well as the Advanced level during this time. He started projects to increase the number of university admissions in science stream.
Moreover, five graduate science teachers were appointed all at once to uplift the bio and physical science streams. In 1994, for the first time a student named M.H.N Nasmiya got selected to the medical faculty from our school. In 1996, M.M.M Mahfar got selected to the Engineering faculty while in the same year three more students got the chance to follow courses in physical science faculty, two students for unani medicine and two others for NDT course offered by Moratuwa, University.
Flying colors in scholarship examination of Al-Azhar National School
A highest percentage of students got passed in year five scholarship examination during this period. In 1994, 8 students passed the year five examination out of 28 students who sat for the examination. And, Mrs.J.A. S Jareena, a primary teacher was sent to Israel in order to pursue a primary learners’ workshop.Mr. Nayeemudeen using his influence with the educational officers in the area, took steps to develop school with physical resources. In 1996, the school was upgraded as a Navodya school.
The library building, advanced level laboratory and many other buildings were built during this period. The non-academic activities were also given prominence during this time and remarkably a group of students participated in the programme called “Shining Star” organized by the Rupavahini Cooperation. The scouts club that was formed during the period of Mr. Haja Mohammed was reformed and many activities were taken place in several areas nearby. Sports meet events were planned separately for girls and boys.
From 2000-2013
In the year 2002, Mr.M.H.M Yusuf Lebbe became the principal. But as he was transferred within a short period then arrived Mr.A.C.M Azhar as the principal. This was the period during which the Bilingual classes (English and Tamil mediums) were established. Moreover, in the first attempt itself among the students who sat for the ordinary level examinations in English medium, a student could secure 10As, which was another special moment in the history of Mother Azhar.
Another distinctive event that took place during this period was that one of the famous English teachers, Mr.A.S.M Azmy was sent to Manchester university, England to acquire a special training in English. A band team was formed. Construction of new buildings like audio, video unit and Information Technology unit were some successful events that happened during this time.
(to be continued)
