REPORT OF THE HONORARY SECRETARY FOR YEAR ENDED
31ST DECEMBER 1998
I present to you the report of the Association
for period 1st January 1998 to 31st December 1998.
The year commenced with a Special General
Meeting of the Association on 7th February 1998 a 10.00
a.m. at S’Thomas’ College Prep School Hall.
The main item of the Agenda was discussed
the current situation at S.T.C. Guruthalawa.
The meeting was well attended with about 50
Members participating at the meeting Senior Vice President,
Mr. Clifford Ratwatte briefed the house of the sequence
of event that had taken place with departure of the Head
Master, Mr. Collin Ratnayake in February 1997. I shall mention
the events as;
1. Headmaster Mr. Ratnayake leaves in February
1997- No replacement made.
2. Presently the school is run by a group
of three comprising of the Acting Head Master, Mr.Chandrasekera
and teachers Mr.Bandusena and Mr. Murthy.
3. Mr. Bandusena is said to have resigned
from this position.
4. The Manager Mr. Gerald De Alwis has made
the ridiculous boast that he has saved the school a large
sum of money by the non-appointment of a permanent Head
Master.
5. When the former Head Master tendered his
resignation the executive committee of the OBA initiated
a verification of the expenses of the new building project
. This was done by M/s Upali Panditharatne and Cryshantha
Jayawardhana.
6. According to their report there were certain
shortcomings in the manner the monies had been spent.
7. The executive committee writes to the Board
of Governors about the financial mis-management at Guruthalawa.
8. The Board of Governors initiates an investigation
through a firm of Auditors recommended by the executive
committee – H.T. Peiris & Co., Chartered Accountants.
9. The senior partner of this firm personally
visited the school and their findings speak volumes of the
mis-management at Guruthalawa at all levels.
10. The executive committee meets the Chairman
of the Board of Governors, the Bishop of Colombo to appraise
him of the prevailing situation at Gurutalawa.
11. The Bishop agrees among other things.
i. to send a copy of H.T.Peiris & Co.’s
Report to the former Head Master calling for his comments.
ii. to call for the Bursar’s explanation
re falsification of certain documents showing fraudulent
alterations- the manager to take appropriate action.
Thereafter a resolution was passed by the
House. Mr. Upali Panditharatne proposed and Mr………………………………..seconded
same.
IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED THAT We appeal to the
Chairman of the Board of Governors, the Lord Bishop of Colombo
to take the following action to prevent further deterioration
of the administration and Financial Management of S’Thomas’
College Guruthalawa.
1) To appoint a new Head Master as soon as
possible.
2) To retire the present Manager who has displayed his inability
to manager the affairs of the School.
3) To appoint a new Manager who could devote more time to
manage the affairs of the School more effectively and efficiently.
4) To appoint a new Advisory Committee which will include
at least three Representatives nominated by the OBA.
The resolution was sent to the Chairman Board
of Governors requesting his Lordships to take immediate
action.
It was also confirmed by ( S.V.P.) Mr. C.Ratwatte
by letter dated 11.3.98 to the Bishop that his proposal
for appointment of two Managers was acceptable to the O.B.A
General Membership and requested the Bishop to make the
following appointments.
Assistant Manager:- Mr. J.L. Habaragoda
Advisory Committee:- 1. Mr. L.W.A. Fernando
2. Mr. Arthur Perera
3. Mr. Upali Panditharatne
4. Mr. Bandula Vithanage
5. Mr. C.E.N. Jayawardhana
On 24th March 1998 at Exco Meeting the Actg.
Head master informed the resignation of Mr.Gerald de Alwis
as Manager. Subsequently the Bishop appointed Mr. C.S.Ratwatte
as Manager from 1st April ’98 and also the following
members to the Advisory Council.
1. Mr. L.W.A. Fernando
2. Mr. Arthur Perera
3. Mr. Upali Panditharatne
4. Mr. Bandula Vithanage
5. Mr. C.E.N. Jayawardhana
The first meeting of the Advisory Committee
was held with the Manager on 20/4/98, and an Action Plan
drawn up to visit the school along with the Manager on 7th
and 8th May 1998.
One of the main task assigned was to check
the accounts of the new Dining Hall project.
The contractor had requested for an additional
payment of Rs. 390,000/= and had instituted action in the
District Court. M/s Upali Panditharatne and C.E.N. Jayawardhana
had vertified the work done and recommended to the Board
of Governors a payment of Rs.83,800/= and interest accumulated.
The case is pending.
Mr. C.E.N. Jayawardhana has been commissioned
with the task of making an estimate to complete the balance
work and the estimates are as follows:-
1) Balance Civil Work
2) Kitchen and Party Equipment
Total
It is the opinion of the Exco that the balance
work of the Dining Hall Project should commence when a permanent
Head Master is appointed and there is better financial discipline
to monitor funds being spent by the O.B.A.
The other matter of great concern to the Manager,
Advisory committee and the O.B.A. membership has been the
appointment of a Permanent Head Master- a vacancy that has
not been filled from February 1997. The Manager, and the
Advisory committee has met the Bishop on many occasions
to convince him that the appointment of a Head Master is
absolutely essential for the proper function of the school.
All members of the O.B.A. feel very strongly
that unless the Board of Governors were to act immediately
and arrest the deteriorating condition in the school. We
may not be able to come to our Alma Mater and sing Esto-Perpetua.
Mid Year Annual Fellowship Dinner
The Annual Mid year fellowship was held on
10th October 1998 at the Empire Ball Room at the Mount Lavinia
Hotel and was a reasonably success.
A total of 300 person has participated and
profit of Rs.165234/= was realized.
The Organizing Committee comprised of :
Mr. Upali Abeywickrama ( Chairman)
Mr/s. Upali Panditharatne, Bandula Vithanage, Shervon Fernando,
P.J. Fernando, K.Rajendran and Upali Jayawardene.
I take this opportunity to thank
a) Mr. P.J. Fernando – For Sponsoring
the Band and 1st prize for Raffle.
b) Mr. Upali Jayawardhana- For sponsoring the fire Limbo
c) Mr. C.Ratwatte- Table Décor
d) Mr. Arthur Perera- Sale of Tickets
e) Mr. Shervon Fernando – For printing of Tickets
Activities of O.B.A. Ex.Co
The Ex-Co held 11 monthly meetings of which
the meeting in April was hosted by Mr.Lucien Fernando at
Goldi Sands. Two meetings were held at the Tea Board Auditorium
and the balance meetings at S’Thomas’ Prep School.
The monthly meeting in August was held at Guruthalawa on
14th.
The attendance at meetings has been satisfactory
with attendance of 50% on 7 meetings and 65% - 75% at 4
meetings.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank
the Ex-Co. members for their co-operation in participating
actively in the affair of the college. Special mention must
be made of some of the young members who joined the Ex.Co.
we wish to see more new faces.
Proposed by K Rajendran
Seconded by M B Manoharan
