In retrospect, the seventies appear to have been the starting period of several economic problems of the world. It also ushered in an era of Youth unrest all over the globe. Most of the present day Third World problems can be attributed to the phenomenal increases in oil prices beginning somewhere in early 1974. The consequent inflation sent the budgets of even affluent countries haywire.

In Ceylon, 1970 saw a change in the governing party. An Old Boy, Hon. M. Senanayake was made Leader of the New House of Representatives and Minister for Irrigation, Power & Highways. If however, the College authorities were expecting a change of heart from the Government towards private schools, they were disappointed. Two other Old Boys who were honoured were Dr. G. R. Handy and Dr. A. V. A. Vethanayagam, who were conferred with the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London and Edinburgh respectively, high honour indeed for their Professional attainments. Other Old Boys who attained eminent positions in the early seventies were Rev. D. J. Ambalavanar who became Bishop of Jaffna, Mr. H. L. D. Selvaratnam who was made a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Paul Lewis who was made Chairman and Managing Director of Singer (International) Ltd., Ceylon and Mr. T. B. M. Ekanayake who was appointed Commissioner for Registration of Persons. Johnians of all hues & shades welcomed with pride the news when Hon. Maitripala Senanayake in 1972 acted for the Prime Minister. It was remembered that another Old Johnian, the Late C. Nagalingam had acted as Governor-General on an earlier occasion.

But this was not the time for euphoria. The University Entrance results saw to it. The results of the Dec. '68 & Dec. '69 A/L examinations were released in 1970 & 71 and only 19 including 7 to Katubedde and 15 students entered the, Varsity from St. John's. This deterioration from previous standards in Tamil areas was entirely due to a process called "Standardisation" by the Government but which the Tamils understood as discrimination. The Principal, Mr. Pooranampillai, in his report at the Prize 'Giving of 1972 bed this to say about the so called Standardisation - "A comparative study of the A/L. results is not possible as the figures of two years have been vitiated by procedures alien to educational practice and wrongly called "Standardisation". The formula for admission to the Universities in 1970, based on the results of the 1969 A/L. examination was separate minima of aggregate marks for the different ethnic groups. The formula for admission in 1971 was more circuitous and camouflaged by educational jargon. We have to point out that to "standardise" separately, in two or more parts, according to ethnic groups the marks scored at one and the same examination, on the same papers, and with the same scheme of marking, is fundamentally unsound. By this kind of differential standardisation, a raw pass mark in one language medium may become a credit mark, while a raw credit mark in the other medium may cease to be a credit mark. The marks so processed were used both for admission to the Universities and for fixing grades at the A/L. examination. I may add that while it may not be unfair to reserve, for a specific period, a few places for those handicapped by lack of facilities, equipment or Staff, it is wrong to have different standards for different ethnic groups or regions. I am speaking not merely as one who sees the resulting frustration, but also as one who sees the implications of this for national progress or unity. Differentiation of this kind eliminates motivation for the output of the highest possible quantity and quality of work both by those who feel discriminated against as well as those who stand to benefit. This would be a national loss that cannot be assessed". No more could St. John's and other Jaffna Schools send large numbers to the scat of higher learning as merit was not a criterion for entry now. In fact, in the Dec. 1970 A/L. Examination, only 12 succeeded in entering the Varsity. In the 1972 & 1973 A/L. Examinations held in April of each year, only 15 & 16 entered respectively. Still, the Jaffna students took things stoically and accepted the challenge and studied harder. They sacrificed the natural instinct to play games and concentrated more on studies. Even though they were frustrated at every turn, they did not erupt violently like their young counter. parts from the South who staged a rebellion in 1971. Thousands of youths were killed during this insurgency for showing open resentment and planning to topple the Government by force. But for the moment, this unrest was confined to the South.

At the College itself, the appointment of Mr. C. E. Anandarajan as co-vice Principal in 1970 was met with unanimous approbation. The welfare association staged the play "YOU NEVER CAN TELL" by Shaw at the Town Hall, Jaffna and also in Colombo at the Ladies College Hall under the distinguished patronage of Hon. & Mrs. M. Senanayake. This netted a profit of Rs. 15,0001-. In 1971, the Jaffna Branch of the 0. B. A. met to consider what steps should be, taken to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the College ,which was due in 1973. Mr. J. C. Handy, the Manager of St. John's was very keen to celebrate the occasion in a fitting manner. It was decided to erect a hall which would be the pride of St. John's and could accommodate more than a 1000 persons. As the Hall had to be situated in a prominent place, a few old classrooms had to be demolished and it was decided that a new set of classrooms be constructed. The foundation stone for the new hall was laid by Mr. J. C. Handy in 1972. In his address on that occasion he exhorted the audience, "Think big, act big and be big. Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God." He saw to it that work started an the building and progressed satisfactorily, when like Moses who was taken away by God after only a glimpse of the promised land from Mt. Pisgah. he too was called away by God in November, 1972. However, Mr. Handy had the satisfaction in knowing that what had been started would be completed. Mr. J. C. Handy, a son of the former Acting Principal and Head Master of St. John's, who in fact named the College, St. John's, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its shifting to Chundikuli in 1891 and after whom Handy House was named, was himself a member of the staff during Mr. Peto's time and had acted as Vice Principal in 1932. He was responsible for compiling the history of the College from 1823 to 1923 to mark its centenary. When he took over as Manager of St. John's in 1962, the finances of the College were in a precarious state owing to the crisis created by the schools take over. Nobody knew from where the funds were going to come for maintaining the College and paying the Staff. The post of Manager of the College was no longer a sinecure one. People were wondering whether the College would have to be handed over due to insufficiency of funds. But Mr. Handy soon removed the Sword of Damocles that was hanging over the school. Working in an honorary capacity, by his firmness, enterprise and economy he enabled the school by 1969 to end the year without a deficit. It was he who made the Jaffna Academy a paying concern. Mr. Handy, together with the Principal Mr. Pooranampillai, bad achieved the impossible of running the school efficiently without fees or a Government Grant. Not only that, they were able to effect improvements in the buildings. They replaced the cadjan roof of Evarts Hostel and the Primary School with asbestos, renovated the Science Laboratories and Cbaplain's Quarters and Put up a new 2.storeyed building for Woodwork, Leather and Paper-pulp work. The Handy Library was a memorial to his father, and Mr. 3. C Handy persuaded his family to donate Rs. 27 000/- for the improvement of the Library and a further Rs. 10,000/- towards the new building of the Hall. Besides his work at St. John's, Mr. J. C. Handy was a Director of the Y. M. C. A, Manager of the Schools for the Deaf & Blind, and a President of the Jaffna Christian Union for a number of years. It is said that the 'hour produceth the man' and St. John's should be thankful that God brought back Mr. J. C Handy to the College at the hour of its greatest need.

Others who bad served the College sincerely and who were called to their eternal rest around this time included Mr. N. E. Jeyasingam, an English & Tamil trained teacher who had been on the staff for nearly a quarter century. His pet &abject was Geography and he was College Football Coach and Master-in-charge of Handy House until his untimely death in 197 1. The two Mathais, T. M. & P. I. both passed away in 1972. Both had been on the staff for a considerable period, T. M. being responsible for the emergence of Science at St. John'& and P. I. being remembered for his brevity in English & History. Mr. & Mrs. D. C. Arulanantham, Mr. P. E. Rajendra, Mrs. E. Chinnappah and Mr. J. F. Sigmaringam, all of whom had been, at some time on the Staff of St. Jobn's passed away in 1973. Past Presidents of the 0. B. A., Mr. C. A. W, Edwards and Mr. A. J. R. Vethavanam died in 1973 and 1975 respectively. Mr. Vethavanam was one who had done much to the College. He had been a student at St. John's in the last decade of the previous century and a teacher in the first decade of this one. Evan after leaving St. John's he had kept in touch with it. He was the first elected President of the 0. B. A South Cey]on, was Manager of the College during the Arulanantham period and was the Old Boys' representative on the Governing Body. When at the age of 90 he spoke at the Ter-Jubilee Celebrations in 1974, he referred to the Centenary Celebrations in 1923 where he had proposed a toast of the guests at the Dinner, and also to the fact that as Manager of the School, he had presided over the Public Meeting at the 125th anniversary celebrations. His passing away brought to a close a very long connection with St. John's and meant a removal of a familiar and well-loved landmark from the College scene.


Teachers who retired during the early seventies included Mr. D. M. Rajaratnam who retired after 18 years as Head of the Primary School, Mrs. Paramothayam who left after 22 years of devoted service to join her husband in U. K. & Mr. V. S. Stephen.

1970 was not a good year for St. John's at Cricket or football. At each of these games they won 3 and lost 3 of the seven matches played. This included an innings defeat in the Big Match, the last time a result has been produced up to date. It has already been hinted that Jaffna School boys were reluctant to spend much effort on time consuming games like cricket, as they bad to concentrate more on their studies because the odds were stacked against them in their endeavour to enter theuniversities. This resulted in a drop in cricket standards when compared to the sixties, and though St. John's managed to hold their own over this decade, it was because the deterioration was peninsula-wide. The cricket team lost 2 more matches in 1971, but remained unbeaten in 1972with an impressive record of 5 wins in 7 games. One of the drawn matches was a thrilling affair against the traditional Big match rivals, Jaffna Central. In the last innings of the game, St. John's were set to make 173 to win in 145 minutes. This was no easy task against the Central College opening bowlers Shantikumar and Mahendran. Shanthikumar was the fastest schoolboy bowler in Ceylon at that time and had played forCeylon Schoolz Vs. Madras with fair success, He also captured 6 wickets against the visiting Australian School-boys. He later played with great success for Tamil Union in the Sara Trophy and was one of the best fast bowlers in Sri Lanka. His non-inclusion for the country against the visiting Australian Team, captained by Kim Hughes on their way to England in 1981 was inexplicable and can only be attributed to reasons other than cricketing ability ! His opening partner in the game under review, Mahendran was a fast-medium left hander bowling over the wicket and slanting the ball viciously towards slips. Batting against them was no easy task and they soon put paid to any ideas St. John's may have entertained of victory, when they sliced through the upper half of the batting to have them reeling at 29 for 7 with almost 2 hours to go. At this stage W. Ravindran joind Skipper Thevapalan and with stout hearts and broad bats, they kept the foe at bay. Once again the proverbial Johnian grit and never say die spirit was on show, and these two carried the fight to the enemy's camp and Johnian supporters were breathing a sigh of relief, when Skipper Thevapalan, like General Wolfe at the Battle of Quiberon Bay, fell with "Victory" (in this case a draw) in sight. But the Centralites had shot their bolt and St. John's had no more shocks in drawing the match, ending up at 92 for 8. N. Naveenan who also batted well in both innings of this match and won the fielding prize, is probably the finest allround fieldsman to have played for St. John's. Thevapalan that year captained the Jaffna combined schools Vs. the Australian School boys. The College team maintained its unbeaten record in 1973 also (won 4 and drew 2) but could not keep it up in 1974 when they lost to Wesley College, Colombo, their only loss to 3 victories and 3 draws. The next year 1975 was disappointing, St. John's winning only one match and losing one, while drawing 5. But there was a unique feat achieved when Peter Selvaratnam, opening for St. John's against St. Patrick's carried his bat through the innings to remain unbeaten for exactly 100. V. Muraleetharan was another centurion that year Vs. Skandavarodaya College. 1973 saw the All Island Cricket tournament started for under 16 teams. That year the St. John's under 16 team were Zonal Champions in the North. In 1974, a competition for under 14 was also started, and both teams from St. John's (under 16 & under 14) went up to the prequarter final stage. In 1975 both these teams were Zonal Champions in the North. The under 14 team won six matches in Jaffna by an innings and then brought off a sensational win against Dharrnarajah Co]Iege, after yielding a first innings load. Briefly what happened was Dharmarajah scored 125 and dismissed St. John's for 50 and enforced the follow on. Only about 2 hours play was left and Dharm irajah appeared as safe as the Bank of England. But in the next 45 minutes, St. John's plundered 142 runs including a hurricane 74 by D. M. Ratnarajab, and declared leaving Dharmarajah to get 68 in about 65 minutes. Amidst tremendous excitement, Dhananjeyan bowled them out for 25, taking the last wicket in the last but one over and ending up with 7 wickets. The glorious uncertainties of Cricket once more ! Both the under 16 and under 14 teams lost to outstation schools at the quarter finals. These young teams went from strength to strength, and the credit for coaching them goes to Mr. K. S. E. Xavier and Mr. S. S. Manuelpiliai.

In football, after a disappointing performance in 1970 the College produced one of its finest ever sides in 1971. They played seven matches and won all of them, equalling their 1967 performance. The leading player was S. Antonypillai a star of the first magnitude, and easily the best footballer St. Jobn's had produced in recent years. He went on to play for Ceylon Schools and ultimately for the All Ceylon side as a school boy. On the field he was the cynosure of all eyes and dazzled everyone by his superb artistry. In the "Hall of Fame" (In the Jubilee Hall, the names of outstanding scholars and sportsmen who shone at St. John's are displayed in panels) Antonypillai's name stands in glorious isolation, as the sole recipient of the "Johnian Eagle" a recent award given for outstanding sporting virtuosity. In 1972 also the College bad a satisfactory record, winning 3 and losing only match in 6. But in 1973 & 74 they had disastrous seasons losing 2 & 5 matches out of 5 & 8 respectively. The football team's performance in 1975 too was disappointing, with I win & loss in 4 matches, but P. Nanthakumar was selected for a Jaffna Youth Team.

In the other traditional sports at St. John's. Athletics, however, the College maintained her supremacy. In 1970, at the Zonal Meet, St. John's were Champions in both the Senior and Junior Groups and won the Relay Cup. In 1971 their Athelete, A. Ravindran was the star performer at the Zonal Meet, winning the 200 metres, High Jump and Long Jump Events. He also came 3rd in the Long Jump and High Jump at the Public Schools meet. In 1972, at the Zonal Meet, the College swept the board winning I7 first places, 8 second and 2 third places. The Group 11 meet was revived and in this they won 20 first places, 10 second and 2 third places. At the Ceylon Schools (Junior) meet, V. Muraleetharan won a gold medal in the discus throw (Under 15) with 108'-10". The success story continued in 1973& 1975, but in 1974 no Zonal meet was held. In 1973, at the Sri Lanka National Schools Meet (Public Schools), A. Ravindran came 1st in the Long Jump with a leap of 21'-7", second in the High Jump and 4th in Hop, Step& Jump. In 1974, ex-Johnian Athlete R. Raveendrakumar represented Sri Lanka in a meet in India. The credit for these successes belong to Mr. S. K. Mahalingam and Mr. K.S E. Xavier, who coached the athletes.

One of the major improvements effected by Mr. Pooranampillai in the field of sports was to widen its scope by introducing new games and organising coaching for 2nd and 3rd elevens, not only in the traditional items like Cricket, Football and Athletics, but in other games like Hockey, Basketball and Badminton and enabling a wider circle to participate in sports. The -College boys took to these games in a big way. In Hockey for instance. the St. John's Senior and Junior teams both won the Northern Schools Championships in 1970. Each team provided 5 members for the Jaffna Schools team in the under 20 and under 17 groups. In 1971 too the College team were unbeaten Champions for the 3rd year in succession and repeated this success in 1972. In 1973, the team did not enter the tournament but won all 3 friendly matches played; in 1974 & 1975 they lost only I match each year but it was not good enough to win the championship.

At Badminton, St. John's won the Championship for the 5th year in succession in 1971 in the Senior group and for the 3rd year in succession in the Junior Group. That year C. S. Vecrasingam won the Jaffna Open title. The senior and Junior teams retained their championships in 1972. C. S. Veerasingam represented the Jaffna team against a visiting Chinese Team, and in the Y. M. C. A. Tournament won six titles ranging from Boys Under 18 to the Open Events. In 1973, 74 & 75 the Tournaments were not he1d.

There had been no basketball for 2 years as the Courts were being repaired, but in 1974, when the tournament was held, St John's won the Seniors Championship and retaind this titlc in 1975, sharing it with Hindu College.

The most important event celebrated at St. John's in the seventies was the 150th or Ter-Jubilee of the College. As has already been written, the 0. B. A. wanted a Jubilee Hall constructed and for this purpose as well as to celebrate the occasion suitably, the 0. B. A. formed a 150th Anniversary Celebrations Committee during the latter half of 1971. It started its work by launching an appeal to collect Rs. 200,000/- from Old Boys Parents & Well Wishers, which amount would be reciprocated by the World Council of Churches as the estimate for the works envisaged was about 4 lakhs. This was a task of no mean order, and inevitably the 0. B. A. looked up to Dr. A. V. A. Vethanayagam to lead them in this venture. He and his band of willing volunteers went around with firm faith .on God and achieved their target. The foundation stone for the Hall was laid in July, 1972 by Mr. J. C. Handy. Even though it had been planned to have the celebrations in 1973, rising costs and scarcity of materials consequent to the oil crisis of 1973-74 delayed the construction of the Hall. However, an Exhibition of great educational value was held in September, 1973 as the commencement of the celebrations. The actual dedication and opening of the Hall and the Ter-Jubilee celebrations were held on 29th November, 1974. The Celebrations began with a solemn Thanks-giving service at the Church, conducted by Rev. A.J.C. Selvaratnam, It was well attended by many Old Boys from all over the country. This was followed by a fellowship breakfast. That evening, the Ven. J. J. Gnanapragasam, acting for the Bishop of Colombo, dedicated the new Hall, which was named the Peto Memorial Jubilee Hall. The Hall was opened by Mrs. Gnanapragasam by cutting a ribbon, at which moment three shots were fired into the air, the third carrying the college flag high into the sky, which brought a spontaneous applause from the crowd. This was followed by the opening of a new two storeyed block of 6 class-roon's which was named the "J. T. Arulanantham Block" in honour of the late Principal. Another building, the former Peto Hostel which had been converted into the Jaffna Academy, was re-named the "J. C. Handy Block" and was opened by Mr. Mano Handy of the lnternational Tourist Bureau, the only son of the late Mr. J. C. Handy.

The crowd then assembled in the new Jubilee Hall and a colourful procession of Old Boys, Present Boys, Staff and Representatives of the C. M. S. and others wended its way from the Main Entrance to the Hall Stage. After the lighting of the traditional oil lamps, a public meeting followed. Prof. C.C. de Silva, Chairman of the Governing Body read a message, during the course of which he said, "You have a magnificent Campus which I hope and pray you will be allowed to preserve intact. However, what is important are not buildings and Playing fields, but the characters of the men you have produced and will no doubt continue to bring forth in the future". This was followed by an address by Dr. A. V. A.Vethanayagam. He read out some messages from Old Boys and well-wishers, one of which was from the Acting Head of the Govt., Hon. Maitripala Senanayake, which stated, "As a loyal Old Johnian myself, I salute my Alma Mater on this historic occasion and wish her immortality in the cause of education in Sri Lanka".

In a message given to the Souvenir which was published on the occasion of the Ter-Jubilee, Mr. Senanayake says, "I recall that my father, himself an Old Johnian, had me admitted to St. John's when I was just 11 years old. I remember it was in 1927 that I entered St. John's. It was a status symbol thcn, as it is now, to say that one was studying at St. John's". Another message from Miss Olive Hitebcock, the Deputy Asia Secretary of the C. M. S. states "Illustrious names and outstanding public service of past pupils, staff and principals; loyalty to its academic and national traditions; these are the impressions of one of the last C. M. S. representatives in Sri Lanka who was closely in touch with St. Jobn's College through the Governing Body for Educational Institutions founded by the C. M. S. in Ceylon". Other addresses followed. The next day, the St. John's - Chundikuli Girls' College Carol service took place, the first event to take place in the new hall, which was packed to capacity. To mark the Ter-Jubilec, a very interesting Souvenir containing anecdotes and other information was published. A Jubilee Hymn was written by Rev. A..J. C. Selvaratnam.

The new Hall was capable of seating 1200 comfortably. It was 112 ft. long by wide, with a balcony 50 ft.x 30 ft and . stage 50 ft. by 20 ft . The hall has six rooms, two in front and 4 at the rear, two on the ground floor and two upstairs. a foyer, the balcony over the foyer with corridors along the sides from the balcony. It is one oi the biggest halls in Jaffna, and the College Prize Givings have been held there ever since it was opened. Among the features that make the Hall attractive especially to Old Boys and their families, are the photographs of the principals of St. John's down the ages, and panels of names of Principals,Headmasters,Vice-Principals ,Winners of Excellence awards, Head Prefects, and Captains of the various games, a veritable "Hall of Fame".

Coming back to College affairs, the results of the G. C. E. A/L. Examination of April, 1974 caused consternation among staff, students and parents. When only 7 were admitted to the Varsity, even though 42 students passed in 3 or 4 subjects out of 84 who sat the examination. This was due to the introduction of the "District Quota" system in addition to the pernicious standardisation. One student who had grades of 2A, IB and IS failed to gain admission. This story was repeated in many schools in the North. Great resntment and frustration was built up and one can say that this marked the beginning of youth unrest and subsequent violence in Jaffna. The Government which had sown an ill wind rcaped the whirlwind, and life has never been the same in the North.

Other matters of interest that took place in 1974-75 were the plays "Forced Marriage" and "Bishop's Candlesticks" acted by the Senior Students, "The Ladder" by the Middle School and .'Baker's Dozen" by the Primary School Students. Mr. J. T. Chelliah and Mr. L. W. D. Nalliah retired during this period, Mr. L. W. D. Nalliah had taught for about 25 years and had been in charge of the Arts & Crafts Section which he built it up to the present level, starting from scratch.

Mr. J. T. Chelliah retired at the end of 1974 after 25 years of service at St. John's, 15 of them as Vice-Principal the longest term any Vice Principal had served. A charming and modest person, he could have become Principal, but declined the offer, preferring the post of king-maker to that of King! His wife, Mrs. G.E.S. Chelliah was already Principal of Girls' College, and it would have been a unique achievement had husband and wife been Principals at the same time of these two sister Colleges. Perhaps Mr. Chelliah thought that the burdens and worries of one Principal was enough for one home! Anyway, these two have seen to it that with both schools running as private institutions, their bonds have been firmly wedded together! Mr. Chelliah was a successful teacher of English and History in the O.L. & A. L. classes and he was loved and respected by students and colleagues. During Mr. Rajasegaram's illness and immediately after he retired, Mr. Chelliah acted as Principal with great acceptance. As a result ol his long associationwith the College as student and teacher, Mr. Chelliah was, and remains, a liaison between past and present Johnians, a most important role, which he still carries on as President of the O. B. A. Jaffna. His influence while at College was felt in every sphere of activity especially as Editor of the College Magazine for several years, as Vice Patron of the VI Form Union and the History and Politics Society, and as President of the Teachers' Guild. He took a keen interest in games, and was a good tennis player and was master-in-charge of Pargiter House. He was always the gentleman and behaved with great dignity and decorum. To be friendly with all, to be the last word in kindness and courtesy, to be the very soul of politeness and gentleness is great, but to practice the most difficult art of living at peace with one's fellows and to shed the fragrance of fellowship and friendship wherever one goes and whomsoever one comes into contact with is indeed the acme of achievement. This was Mr. J. T. Cbelliab and he will go down in the history of St. John's as one of its greatest Vice-Principals.