1983
In the final chapter in the History of St John's, Mr.S.M.V.Tissanayagam dealt in detail the glorious events that took place at the College till the beginning of 1983. He ends up the chapter in a very optimistic note that in spite of the resurgent nationalism and clash of cultures, St. John's College will continue to inculcate in the minds of the future generation of students the basic values and virtues of life.

The year 1983 was a blot in the history of our country. The country was in the grip of a volcanic eruption of ethnic riots. Many lives were lost, property damaged and thousands of Tamils from the South flocked to Jaffna as refugees. St John's rose up to the occasion, admitting about 400 displaced students by putting up five additional classrooms to accommodate them. In the midst of the chaotic situation, the College continued to maintain all-round standards in studies, games and có-curricular activities.

On the academic side our results in the G.C.E O/L and A/L examinations continued to be the envy of others. At the G.C.E (A/L) examination of August 1982, 183 sat, 77 passed in all four subjects and at the G C E (O/L) of December 1982, 170 sat and 123 qualified for A/L studies with S.Niranjan, C.N.Canagarajah, S.Dharmalingarn and S.Ramanan securing distinctions in all eight subjects.

Our students performed exceptionally well in co-curricular activities during the year. Our Senior Science Quiz Team won the first place in a contest organised by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science. At the Mahaweli Quiz Contest, our team became champions among the participants from Jaffna, Vavuniya. Mannar and Mullaitivu. Later they went on to Trincomalee for the semi-final where 315 Tamil medium schools in the whole Island participated. Our team did the best in the semi final, securing 100 points, the maximum possible and won a Colour Television Set for the College S.Niranjan, S.Dharmalingam, Y.Sivayogan. S.Vithiananthan and M Joy Easa represented the team. It is noteworthy that 1883 schools participated and St.John's was adjudged one of the best four schools island wide. For reasons beyond our control, we were unable to participate in the finals.

At the English Day Competitions conducted by the department of Education, Jaffna, our students secured 15 first places, 5 second and one third. The Interact Club participated in the All Island Schools Competitions organised by the Rotarians and came out with flying colours securing five awards.

There were also notable performances by our students in other fields. At the All Island Music Competition organised by the Department of Education Y.Yathavan and M Thayaparan secured the first place in Junior and Senior groups respectively. The Tamil debating Team participated in the All Island Inter School Debating Competition organised by the Christian Tamil Cultural Fraternity and was placed runner up. S.Niranjan won the first place in Tamil Oratory (Senior group) at the All Island Speech Competition organised by the Thirukkural Kazhaham.

In games and athletics our performance during the year was equally commendable. The First Eleven Cricket team under the captaincy of R.Mahinda performed well by winning four games and drew the other four, thus remained unbeaten. The performance of R.Mahinda, T.Ragulan and T.Nishyanthan at the Big Match which ended in a draw is still fresh in the minds of Cricket loving public. In the competition organised by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd our first eleven cricket team was selected the Best Team in the North and R.Mahinda was chosen the runner up for the Cricketer of the North. The Second Eleven team with captain A.Sumanthiran was runner up in the tournament organised by the Jaffna Schools Cricket Association. The under 15 team under the captaincy of A.Vakeesan was champions in the North and in the All Island Schools Cricket Tournament, we qualified to enter the semifinals by beating De Mazenod College, Kandana. Unfortunately due to the ethnic disturbances, we could not participate in the Semifinals. Thus the team repeated the previous years performance of winning the championship in the North with T.Rahulan the captain scoring a scintillating 175 runs against Jaffna Central College on their grounds.

In Basket Ball too our under 19 team remained unbeaten. In Hockey and First Eleven Football though our performance was not impressive, the second Eleven Soccer Team remained unbeaten. They played nine matches, won eight and drew one. Students evinced keen interest in Tennis, Chess and Badminton. LaI Samuel of our Badminton team won the under 13 Singles title at National level in the Schools' Badminton Championships held in Galle.

A notable event took place during the period under review. Part 11 of the History of St John's College, Jaffna was released in 1983. In this context, Johnians past, present and future are heavily indebted to Mr S M V Tissanayagam who laboured to record the events in the life of our College from 1923 to 1983.

Mr R S Kandiah of the tutorial staff retired from service in 1983 after serving his Alma Mater for twenty two years. He was a teacher of General Science and was the Master in Charge of Thompson House.

Two members of the tutorial staff completed 25 years of service each. Mr T Gunaseelan who joined the staff in 1958 was a loyal old boy, teacher of Physics in the Advanced Level classes. Middle School Supervisor, Vice Principal and Principal of the Col1ege.

Mr Sara Thamotharam another loyal old boy joined the staff in 1958 and was teacher of General Science. House Master of Pargiter and Senior Boarding House Master.

The Old Boys associations in Jaffna and South Ceylon continued to be active and extended a helping hand to the administration of the college.

1984
The achievements of St John's College in several fields under the, dynamic leadership of the Principal Mr C E Anandarajan continued in 1984 as well. Our results in the G.C.E A/L continued to be good. 91 out of 195 students who sat the examination passed in four subjects with Janarthanan .Kathirgarnanathan getting distinctions in all four subjects. Visakan Kathirgamanathan who secured distinctions in all four subjects at the G C E (A/L) examination of 1982 brought credit to the College by winning full scholarship from Christ College, Cambridge to do Engineering. At the G.C.E (O/L) examination of December 1983 of the 172 students who sat the examination, 142 students qualified for Advanced Level studies. K.Balakurnar. D K Ponniah and M Thayaparan obtained distinctions in all the eight subjects.

For the Scouts and Sea Scouts I984 was a successful year. Three Scouts R.J,Jeevachandran, B Harendran & P.Tissanayagam and five Sea Scouts R.Rajeevan, N.Vasantharuban,. D K.Ponniah. S.Kamalathasan and V Vijesekar obtained the prestigious President's Awards. Jeevaratnam Sanjeevan won the first place in Speech and Drama at a contest organised by the Teachers of Music and Speech, Sri Lanka.

Our First Eleven Cricket Team under the captaincy of P.Thirukurnar remained unbeaten for the second year in succession. Of the six matches played, we won 3, drew 2 and one was abandoned due to rains. This team was selected the Best Team in the North and our Vice Captain, Y Muraleetharan was selected runner up for the Cricketer of the North by the Associated -Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. P Thirukumar brought honour to the college by being selected to represent under 19 Sri Lanka Schools National Team. He was a stand by for the Australian tour. He earned a double when he was selected a member of the Sri Lanka Basket Ball Federations Youth Pool. The College recognized his contributions to games and awarded him the 'John ian Eagle', the highest award at College a student could aspire.

The under 17 team with captain T.Rahulan played five Inter School matches, won four and lost one. They were runners up in the tournament organised by the Jaffna Schools' Cricket Association. The under .15 team with captain N.Ruban played four Inter School matches, won two and lost two.

In Soccer our first team under the captaincy of C.N.Canagrajah had a lean season. But the second team with N.Baheerathan as captain played five matches. won four and drew thus remained unbeaten. The third team K.Surendra as captain did well to win games and draw one to remain unbeaten. Athletics, Basket Ball, Table Tennis Badminton our performance was satisfactory.

Two more members of the academic staff completed 25 years of service each. Mr.S.P.Jeevanantham who joined the staff in 1958 was a dedicated teacher and was appointed Supervisor of Middle School. Mr.S.K.Mahalingam. an outstanding sportsman St John's produced joined his Alma Mater in 1959. He was the Coach of the First Eleven Cricket, Football and Athletic Teams and was later a successful teacher of English in the Middle and Upper School.

The cadjan shed classrooms parallel to the Old Park Road was replaced by a double storey building consisting of eight classrooms to mark the memory of one of our past Principals Mr.A.W.Rajasekaram. This block was ceremoniously opened in January 1984 by Mr.Devanesan Nesiah, Government Agent, Jaffna and an Old Boy.

The Old Boys' Associations in Jaffna and South Ceylon (Sri Lanka) continued to be active and were a source of inspiration to the College.

1985
At a time when the country was in the grip of a political turmoil, militancy in the North was gaining momentum. Unable to contain the resurgent youth of the North, the Government conceded to a negotiated settlement and the Thimpu Talks was the outcome. While the talks were going on, the educated elites in the North thought that the conditions were conducive to create a climate of cordiality with the Armed forces in the North to bring about peace and prosperity in the country in general and the Tamil areas in particular. But St John's had to pay a heavy price to this noble thought, a price that it could not have afforded.

Mr Anandarajan was one of those who shared the above thoughts. Being a man of outspoken views he did not suppress his opinions. This embittered some. On the 26th of June 1985, as the sun was going down, assassins fired eleven shots from a pistol and the life of one of the best Principals came to an end down Racca Lane.

Mr Anandarajan was one of the most outstanding products of St.John's College. He joined the College as a student in the senior class and was appointed Senior Prefect in 1951. From St .John's after a stint of teaching at Carey College. Colombo he went to Madras Christian College, where he earned a degree in science and came back to his Alma Mater as a teacher in 1955. A popular and successful teacher of Zoology in the Advanced Level Classes he was appointed a member of the panel of supervisors for A/L practicals by the Ministry of Education. While as a teacher he was President of the N.P.T.A.. President of Christian Teachers' Association. President of Jaffna Y.M.C.A and held positions of responsibility in several other organisations in the North.

Before being appointed Principal in March 1976 he had successfully performed his duties as Co-Vice Principal (1970-1974) and Vice Principal (1975-1976). His period of principalship was a traumatic one when political power was gradually passing from the so-called "elders" to the 'Youth'. His dynamic personality and easy disposition made him a master of any situation. A man born for the service of humanity he found pleasure in doing social service. As a member of the Jaffna Citizens' Committee and Spokesman of the Jaffna Principals' Association he was able to get the release of several students from army custody. A friend to all those who needed help, he went out of his way to help people in difficult circumstances. St .John's was made poorer when the cruel hand of death snatched away a social worker whose purpose of life was unselfish service to the Tamil Community, a gentleman who paraded the premises of the College like a colossus with indomitable courage and a Principal who gave utmost importance to discipline. With his passing away an era of dynamism ends and succession of misfortunes follow.

Before concluding this chapter let us look at the activities of the College up to the end of June, 1985. At the G.C.E (AlL) examination of August 1984. of the 140 students who sat the examination 86 students passed in three or four subjects and 6L5% of the students qualified for University admissions. The G.C.E (O/L) examination of December 1984 was held in February 1985. 195 students sat the examination and 144 students qualified for Advanced Level studies. R.Niles and A. Sathiyendran obtained distinctions in all the eight subjects. We are happy to note that 41 students out of 195 qualified for Government scholarship based on their performances.

This year too our student's attainments in co-curricular activities were satisfactory. Our quiz team with S Tharrnalingarn, S.Vithiyananthan, C.N Canagarajah. S.Ramanan and V.Kandeepan won the championship at a contest organised by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science in the Jaffna District. In the English Day Competitions conducted by the Department of Education, .Jaffna. our boys secured 25 first places, 20 second places and 14 third places at circuit level. At the Inter Schools Music Competitions Y.Yathavan and M.Thayaparan won the first places in Carnatic Music and Instrumental Music (Flute) respectively. In the Tamil Day Competitions organised by the Department of Education. S.Suthesan won the first place in Tamil speech. J.P.Joseph and D.H.Joseph won the President's Award for scouting.

Due to conditions prevailing in the North our First Eleven Cricket team under the captaincy of J.M.George played only one inter school match which they won and three club matches. The under 17 team played five matches, won two and drew three. A.Vaheesan the captain scored two centuries during the season: 102 N.O. against St Patrick's College and 135 n.o. against Jaffna Central College. The under 15 team with captain T.Ahilan played only three inter school matches and won two and lost one. Our First Eleven Football team with C.N.Canagarajah as captain remained unbeaten and the significant pattern of the matches was that no goal was scored against our team. We played five matches won four and drew one.

The second team also did well to remain unbeaten for the second year in succession. The team led by T.Logarajah played six matches, won five and drew one. The third team under the captaincy of T.Vaheesan, played six matches, won three and lost three.

Two members of the staff retired after long and meritorious service. Mrs.G.Vararajasingharn who joined the staff of the primary school retired after twenty four years of dedicated service. She was a painstaking teacher of English in the primary section. Mr.V.Thuraisamy who served the College for 37 years retired in December .1985. He taught Mathematics and Tamil in the primary school and served as Head Master for seven years. A diligent and dedicated teacher, he was helpful to the management in many ways. We are sad to record the passing away of Mr.T.R.Wilson who joined the staff in 1983. He was Editor of the College magazine for two years. He passed away on 28th March 1985.

Three new buildings were ceremoniously opened in March 1985. The K Pooranampillai Block with classrooms downstairs and an assembly hall upstairs for the primary school was opened and dedicated by Rt Rev D J Ambalavanar, Bishop in Jaffna. The P.T.Mathai Block built during the principalship of Mr.K.Pooranampillai, with Motor Engineering section downstairs and woodwork section upstairs was opened by Mrs.G.E.S.Chelliah, Principal emeritus. Chundikuli Girls College and dedicated by Ven. Sam D.Horshington. Archdeacon of .Iaffna. The E..M.Ponnudurai Pavilion was opened by Mr.J.G.Aseervatham, High Court Judge, Jaffna and dedicated by Rev.J.Sarvananthan. Vicar, St. John's Church. Chundikuli. These three buildings not only fulfilled the long felt need of the college but also honoured three great men associated with St. John's College.

The Old Boys Associations in Jaffna and South Ceylon (Sri Lanka) continued to actively participate in the affairs of the College.

MISFORTUNES NEVER COME SINGLE

1986
The untimely passing away of Mr.C.E.Anandarajan created a vacuum in the administrative structure of St Johns College and Vice Principal Mr.T.Gunaseelan was the natural choice. Mr Gunaseelan was another son of St .John's who knew the inns and outs of the College. His parents were teachers at St. John's and naturally he had his entire schooling here. After completing the Advanced Level studies he joined the undergraduate section of Jaffna College and obtained the B.Sc (London) degree. In 1958 he came back to his Alma Mater as a teacher of Physics in the advanced level classes. Later he obtained the Diploma-in-Education from the University ofo Ceylon, Peradeniya. He held many positions of responsibility, Senior Boarding House Master, Prefect of Games. Middle School Supervisor and Vice Principal. Hence he took over the Principalship in July. 1985 like a duck to water. In course of time he proved a worthy successor to Mr Anandarajan.

1986. was an year of administrative changes in the College. On 1st December 1986, Mr.J.N.Ponniah an Old. Boy and former teacher was appointed Vice Principal. Earlier as a teacher at St John's. he was Boarding House Master., Master in charge of Pargiter House,. Prefect of Games and President of the Teachers' Guild. Mr.S.Thanapalan. another Old Boy. with an Arts Degree from Peradeniya University and Diploma-in-Education was appointed Supervisor., Middle School in place of Mr.S.P.Jeevanantham who moved on to the Primary School as Head Master.

Mr A.P.Perinpanayagam. an Old Boy who joined the staff in 1955, taught English and Social Studies in the Middle School for over thirty five years retired in the course of the year.

Due to the unsettled political conditions prevailing in the North the College was unable to hold the Prize Giving in the usual manner. Instead on 23rd February 1987 the College had the Prize Giving as an internal function with the students, staff and parents of prize winners.

The Old Boys' Associations of Jaffna and South Sri Lanka were very active this year. The O.B.A Jaffna felicitated Mr Gunaseelan, our new . Principal. To encourage the sports activities of the Old Boys, Johnian Sports Club was inaugurated as an appendix of O.B.A Jaffna with Mr P T Samuel as the first President. Both Jaffna and South Sri Lanka were involved in a fund raising campaign towards the proposed Anandarajan Memorial Pavilion.

In spite of the unsettled conditions in the country. our performance in the academic sphere was good. At the G.C.E (A/L) examination of August 1985 of the 97 students who sat the examination 77.3% of our students qualified for university admissions. Finally 40 students gained admissions to the various faculties of the universities. A commendable achievement indeed. This performance was repeated again in the Advanced level examination of August 1986. 142 students sat the examination and 99 students qualified for university admissions. For the first time the Department of Examinations worked out indices in respect of examination performance for all schools in the Island. St.Johns College got the second highest index for Science (73) and the third highest index for Commerce & Arts (67).

At the G.C.E (O/L) examination of December 1985 of the 149 students who sat, 112 qualified for A/L studies. T Dileepan obtained distinctions in all the eight subjects and 41 students qualified for Government Scholarships. Co-curricular activities during the year were badly affected due to the prevailing political situations. Our Quiz Team repeated the previous year's performance when they were adjudged champions in the North in a contest organised by Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science. S. Dharmal ingam, S.Vithiananthan, C.N.Canaga rajah, N.Kumaresan and S.Ganeshananthan were the members of the successful team. S.Niranjan won the President's Award for scouting.

To adjust ourselves to the ground conditions the pattern of First Eleven Cricket matches changed to limited over games of 50 overs for each side. With A.Vaheesan as captain; the team played five inter school matches, won 3 and lost 2. The under 17 team with P.Raviraj as the captain played in the tournament organised by the Jaffna Schools Cricket Association and became Group Champions. The under 15 team with T Satheesan as the captain played in the tournament organised by the Jaffna Schools Cricket Association, lost in the Semi-Finals to Kokuvil Hindu College. Our First Eleven Soccer team with captain P.Partheepan played five friendly matches won one drew one and lost three. But in a tournament organised for the under 19 age group our team did exceptionally well by winning all the matches in the tournament and became District Champions. A salient feature of the tournament was that none of the teams were able to score a goal against us. The under 17 team under K.Asokan as captain played four matches, won one, drew one and lost two. The under 15 team with Captain P Ragavan played five matches and remained unbeaten. Athletics, Basket Ball, Hockey, Table Tennis and Badminton were the other games worked out during this period.

1987
1987 is an important landmark not only in the politics of Sri Lanka but also in the history of the College. Politically the decision of the Government to launch a military operation in Vadamarachchy led to the Indian Peace Keeping Forces setting foot in the Tamil areas. The Indo Sri Lanka peace treaty gave fond hopes of peace and prosperity to the Tarnils. But this hope was shattered towards the latter part of the year when the IPKF started military operations. The Vadamarachchy and IPKF operations affected the entire life pattern of the Tamils, the most affected being education. Many schools were converted into Army Camps, many closed, attendance of students and staff in schools that functioned was very poor. Often students kept out of schools for safety or to protest. When the armed confrontations reached a peak, schools in Jaffna were closed from October to November.

The IPKF operations affected St John's most. By the third week of October the military operations centered around Jaffna town. October 20th & 21st were the worst days for St John's. Over 200 shells burst over St John's premises and 28 shells hit targets. Peto Hall, the Centenary Science Block housing the Biology and the Chemistry laboratories, Library, Classrooms in front of the Office, Pooranampillai Block and the Principal's Bungalow were badly damaged. Many families from the neighbourhood, families of some staff and about 28 boarders who had taken shelter in the College buildings faced untold hardships. The IPKF took over St John's by about the midnight of October 2 1st. The next day we were told the sad news, that M Masilamany. our Ground Boy had been shot by the IPKF and was in a critical condition, he later succumbed to injuries. The irony of this incident was that Masilamany was born in Tanjore in South India and the Officer who shot at Masilamany also hailed from Tanjore. During three days that the IPKF stayed at St .John's, the people who stayed there as refugees led a nightmarish life. They were confined to the buildings, both day and night and even to go to the toilets they had to get permission from the army personnel on sentry duty. When ultimately they vacated, the College premises resembled a battle field and when an assessment of damages to buildings and equipments was made it amounted to 12 lakhs. The IPKF subsequently repaired the Peto Hall at a cost of 1 1/2 lakhs to them.

With this background let us look into the College activities. Mr Gunaseelan who was shaping well as Principal had a serious set back of health and he found it difficult to continue in service. He placed the interest of the school foremost and decided to retire by the end of March 1987. Though his period of Principalship was short, he maintained standards in studies, games and discipline. He was Principal during a challenging period; but his cool temperament and gentle approach paid dividends. For 29 years he enriched the life of the college in various capacities.

With the unexpected retirement of Mr.T.Gunaseelan the Governing Body was on the look out for a worthy successor. Since it could not be done overnight Mr.K.Pooranampillai our former Principal and presently the Manager of the College was appointed to perform the duties of the Principal. .He held the fort till December 1987.

Inspite of the unsettled conditions our Advanced Level and Ordinary Level results continued to be good. At the G.C.E (A/L) examination of August 1987, of the 132 students who sat the examination 82 qualified for University admissions with A.Sathiyendra getting all four distinctions in the Physical Science and in the Country wide ranking we were placed 4th in the Science Stream. At the G.C.E (O/L) examination of December 1986, 161 students out of 171 passed in 5 or more subjects. Seven students S.N.Bhuvanaratnam, V.Devakumar, G.Kugan. N.Narenthiran N.Subanesan, T.Thavachenthan and D.Tissainayagam obtained distinctions in all the eight subjects. The G.C.E (O/L) examination of December 1987 was not held in Jaffna due to IPKF - LTTE hostilities. Most of the usual school activities including the College Annual Prize Giving were not held.

Our First Eleven Cricket Team participated in a competition organised by the Shabra Unico Finance Company Ltd., and was adjudged the Best Team. T Sanjeevan and G S Nesakumar were selected the Best All rounder and the best Batsman respectively in the tournament. With captain A Vaheesan the team played five inter school matches, won three by innings and drew the other two. thus remained unbeaten. The second and third teams couldn't play any matches. The U-19 Basket Ball team with. R.P.Sivasuthan as captain participated in a tournament organised by the YMCA, Jaffna and got the runner up award. The U- 17 team with S.Suharnan as .captain played against clubs as hardly any school in Jaffna played this game.

The only other game played during the year was Table Tennis.

R.Nilendran and S.Sabesan of the scouts. P.Rameshwaran and S.Pasupathy of the sea scouts obtained the prestigious President's award.

Apart from Mr.T.Gunaseelan three other senior members of the staff retired from service. Mr.S.Panchalingam joined the 'College as a student in 1946, was elected Senior Prefect and captained the Volleyball team that won the all Ceylon Championship. Later he obtained the B.Sc (London) degree and joined the staff in July 1953 and due to his devoted service, was appointed Vice Principal in November 1976 and retired in September 1987 after serving for 33 years.

Mr.Sara Thamotharam, another Old Boy, joined the staff in 1958 and was teaching Botany in the upper school and General science in the Middle school. He was also Senior Boarding House Master and Master in charge of Pargiter House.

Mrs.Chandra Navaratnam joined the staff in June 1967 as a teacher of Western Music. She taught English in the Primary School with much acceptance. She retired in 1987 after 20 years of loyal service.

The OBA, Jaffna was unable to carry out any of its programmes but the South Ceylon (Sri Lanka) branch was very active. To get the old boys in U.K invol.ved in the welfare of the College, Chundikuli - St.John's Past Pupils' Association was formed. The objectives of the association being to act as a Focus, to act as a Forum and to act as a Fund - raiser.

We are sorry to record that a good many of our Old Boys passed away during the year.

1988
Dr.E.S.Thevasagayam who was appointed Principal of the College in October 1987 was unable to assume his duties immediately due to conditions in Jaffna. However, he took over the reins in January 1988. Dr Thevasagayam has long association with St John's College. Son of a former Head Master of the Primary School, he had his entire secondary education at St John's. Later he joined Madras Christian College where he obtained a Masters Degree with Zoology as his main subject. He came back in 1947 to St. John's and .took to teaching Zoology in the A/L classes. Though he was here as a teacher only for five years, he made his mark as Senior Science Master in Charge of the laboratories, Senior Boarding House Master; in charge of Thompson House and Prefect of Games. He left
St .John's to join the Medical Department as Entomologist. From there he moved on to the Department of Agriculture and later joined the United Nations Civil Service as Consultant, Entomologist with the World Health Organisation. In the meantime he obtained M.Sc. Degree from the University of California and Ph.D from Woo Sok University, Korea. The need of the hour for St John's was a master builder and Dr.Thevasagayam was the man for it. Another noteworthy development in the administrative structure was the appointment of Mr. S.Thanapalan as Co-Vice Principal from June 1988. Mr Thanapalan, an Old Boy of the College, an Arts Graduate of the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya with Diploma in Education, Supervisor of the Middle School and Prefect of Games was an apt choice to adorn the administrative hierarchy. On the heels of his appointment he was given a scholarship by the Governing Body to follow a course leading to Diploma in Religious Education at the University of Birmingham, U.K.

Two members of the staff completed 25 years of service at St John's. Mr.S.Kanapathippillai who joined the staff in January 1963, was the Vice Patron of Tamil and Hindu Societies, Master in Charge of Handy House, Senior Boarding House Master and later Caterer, President of the Teachers' Guild and Editor of the College Magazine. Mr.J.N.Poimiah, an old student of St.John's, joined the staff in 1956 and left us in 1980 to accept a teaching appointment in Nigeria. Whilst at St John's, he was Boarding House Master, Master in charge of Pargiter House and Scouting and Prefect of Games. He came back to the College on 1st December 1986 as Vice Principal.

Most of the College activities during the year were not held or held on a low key. The First Eleven Cricket Team with T.Sanjeevan as captain played two matches, won both and a third match was abandoned. The under 17 team with T.Satheesan as captain played three matches, won one, and drew the other two. The under 15 team with captain M.T.Inpan played three matches and drew all three. The under 19 Hockey Team with P.Ketheeswaran as captain played four matches against clubs, won one. drew one and lost the other two. The under 17 team with T.Arullakshmän as captain played two matches and both ended in goalless draw. Our soccer season was cut short due to the passing away of two of our students. The under 19 team with P.Ketheeswaran as captain played two matches drew one and lost the other. The second team with A.S.Ranjith as captain played two matches won one and drew one and the third team with V.Anojan as captain played two, drew one and lost one.

Due to a bomb blast near St John's College on December 9th two of our students passed away; P.Thiruthanikesan and S.Harisuthanan both of Advanced Level classes. Another student N. Subanesan of Advanced Level second year, a College Prefect and one who had obtained distinctions in all eight subjects in the G.C.E. (O/L) examination was badly injured. He was taken to India by the Indian Red Cross Society for an eye surgery. Mr.J.M Sabaratnam, a distinguished old student who had served on the Joint Committee for St John's and Jaffna Academy for a long time passed away in the course of the year. At the time of his death he was the Manager for St. John's. Prof..S.Vithiananthan, an old student and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Jaffna also passed away this year.

The Old Boys' Associations were very active during the year. The Jaffna branch decided to convert the Anandarajan Pavilion Fund into Building Fund towards the proposed science laboratory. The Colombo branch contributed Rs.20,000 to be distributed among those affected by the IPKF operation. The U.K. branch was also busy raising funds for the College. The Old Boys in Toronto, Canada inaugurated the Chundikuli OGA and St. John's College, Jaffna OBA on the inspiring initiative of Mr .& Mrs.J.T.Chelliah. The College on its part to fulfill the needs of the old students published an abridged edition of the college magazine containing informations that interest the old students.

All in all, the year under review was a period of planning, re-construction and rehabilitation.

1989
Inspite of the political instability in the Tamil areas, life at St .John's started on a bright note. The foundation for the new Science Complex was laid on the 11th of March. According to plans two three storey. blocks parallel to the existing. Physics laboratory, housing six laboratories and two classrooms on the right and six classrooms on the left will be built. These blocks will be connected by. a two storey pavilion with a games room. Immediately after this happy occasion a very sad event took place. Mr.K.S..E.Xavier who had been on the staff for over twenty years went to Madras for an eye surgery. But on landing at the Madras Airport, he passed away, rather unexpectedly. Mr.Xavier was an all round sportsman during his school days and at St John's he was a teacher of Health Science, coaching First Eleven Cricket and Athletics.

We continued to maintain our high standards in studies. At the G.C.E (O/L) examination of July 1988 of the 124 students who sat the examination 103 qualified to proceed to the A/L classes. The following eight students N.Manodheeran, V.Mayooran, G.Puveindra, 5.8. Sivasuthan, T.Umasunthar, V.Uruthira and S.Vasanthan obtained distinctions in all the eight subjects, another ten obtained 7 distinctions each. The G.C.E O/L December 1998 examination was held in February 1989. Of the 130 students who sat the examination 110 passed in five or more subjects with a percentage of 85.13 students obtained six distinctions each. We may recall here that the examination was conducted only in six subjects. At the G.C.E (A/L) examination of August 1988, 153 sat and 65% of the candidates qualified to enter universities and finally 52 were admitted to the various faculties. S.Ramanan obtained distinctions in all the four subjects. Later he won a scholarship to Cambridge University to do Engineering. In the year 6 scholarship examination of 1988, S.Kantharuban was ranked first in the island with 191 marks and G.Pradeepan with 188 marks was ranked third. The former was awarded one week's trip to Japan by the Japanese government.

Our Science Quiz Team with M.G.Jeevathasan (Captain), N.Narendran, N.Subanesan, D.Tissanayagam and G.Vinayagan won the first place in the District in a contest organised by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science. R.Kumaran won the first place in an all island Art competition held in connection with the Gamudawa celebrations, Anarnaduwa. B.Satheesh brought credit to the College when he won a prize in a worldwide Art competition organised by the Christian Children's Fund of Canada. The Interact Club of St.John's, a service club under the Rotary Club completed twenty five years of service to the College and community. Sea Scouts T.Umasunthar. G.Kugan, K.Kiritharan and Scouts S.Sivaganesh. T.Vaseeharan and S.Sagishna won the President's Award for Scouting.

The prevailing situation in Jaffna then, was not ideally suited for sports activities. Still, we managed to go through our programmes. The first eleven cricket team with T.Sanjeevan as captain played four interschool matches, won one, drew one and the other two were abandoned halfway. The under 17 team with S.Sudesh as captain played two school matches which we won on first innings performance. The under 15 St.John's more attractive and came back to the team with M.Kandeepan as captain played three interschool matches and won all three on first innings performance. The under 19 Basket Ball team captained by P.Ragulan played three club matches wd won one. The under 17 team with R.Sutharshan as captain played just one match and lost it. In Hockey our under 19 team captained by P.Ragulan played three matches with the clubs and remained unbeaten by winning two and the other drax~n. The under 17 team captained by B.Mathanmohan played two matches, lost one and won the other. The first eleven Soccer team with T.Satheesan as captain played two club matches and one with Jaffna University and lost all three. The under 17 team with B.Selvajit as captain played two matches. won one and drew the other. The under 15 teams was captained by R.Nishan, played two matches and won both.

Mr.S.Thanapalan who had gone to the Birmingham University, U.K on a scholarship returned to the College after successfully completing his course leading to Diploma in Religious Education. Mr.P. S.Arulraj completed 25 years of loyal service to the College. He was appointed Principal's Secretary in September 1962 and continued in that capacity till 1984 when he decided to go abroad. But he found St John's more attractive and came back to the College welfare office in 1986.

Two members of the staff retired in the course of the year. Mr.J.N.Ponniah. Vice Principal from 1986 decided to leave the college to take up a teaching appointment in Maldives. Mr.Ponniah made an all round contribution to the college in games. scouting, classroom work and finally administration. Mr.K.B ;Bhuvanaratnam who joined the college as a teacher of commerce in 1977 also helped the college in the playing field. He was the coach of the under 15 Cricket team and Athletics for some time. He was appointed Supervisor of Middle School in August 1988 and retired in March 1990.

This year too we lost four of our students, all under tragic circumstances. W.Ranjith who obtained 2A, 2B in the G.C.E (A/L) examination passed away due to drowning. V.Devakumar another bright student in the Advanced Level classes, who had earlier obtained 8 distinctions in the G.C.E (O/L) examination died on 31st December 1989 under mysterious circumstances. T.Ahilan, a College Prefect and Vice Captain of the First Eleven Cricket Team also died under mysterious circumstances. T.Kajendran. a boarder, when he was returning to the hostel after an exeat week-end with his parents died of gun shot injuries at Kilinochehi.

Two others who died during the year need special mention. Mr.M.S.Thambithurai, student of St.John's College from 1921, teacher from 1929. Supervisor of Primary and Middle School and Caterer retired in 1961. After retirement he continued to help in the office as Bursar till 1964.

Mr.M.Vairamuttu, a well wisher of the College, joined the Welfare Office of the College as President after a meritorious service in the Ceylon Civil Service. He was not an old boy, but he realised that a private College has a place in our part of the country and threw his weight to alleviate the finances of the college. The credit of placing St.John's on sound financial footing goes to Handy - Pooranampillai - Vairamuttu combination. He died in April 1990.

The Old Boys' Associations were also very active during the year. The OBA South Ceylon organised a Show Biz Spectacular on 16th December 1989 to raise funds for the College building projects. They forwarded to the Principal a sum of one hundred thousand rupees towards the Building Fund. They also gave a sum of ten thousand rupees to the College to be given to students and staff affected by the recent disturbances. The Jaffna branch amended their constitution to have the Principal of the College as the Vice Patron. The Chundikuli OGA .and St.John's College OBA, Toronto, Canada drafted a constitution for the Association and adopted it and got it registered with the Provincial Government of Ontario. The U.K branch was busy raising funds towards the building projects of the College.

The year under review was a period of uncertainty all round and schools in the North were unable to carry out their calendar and St.John's with its diversified activities was not an exception.

A PERIOD OF TRANSITION

1990
1990 was a year of hopes, hope for the cessation of shelling, strafing and aerial bombardments, hope for the people to enjoy normal life, hope for the relieve of the sufferings of the Tamil people and an ardent hope for peace and prosperity. People were very optimistic that a peaceful solution to all their suffering is close at hand. The Premadasa Government and the LTTE Peace Talks was the spring of their hope. The talks went on for months and the people hoped that all the grievances of the people were closely scrutinized, thus satisfied themselves for the long drawn out talks. But, little did the people realize the history of Peace talks in Sri Lanka. As in the past this peace talk also failed and by June accelerated confrontations erupted between the government forces and the LTTE. Military Operations in and around the Fort area was so severe, the people had to migrate to safe areas.

\During this time the Principal was away in Colombo on leave and the Vice Principal Mr.S.Thanapalan was to shoulder the onerous duties. He had a very tough time handling the war situation and the psychological pressures from outside forces. But he rose up to the occasion, handling the situation successfully. Many were the days and nights that the Vice Principal and his family along with the family of Mr.S.Kanapathippillai and some neighbours spent in the bunker. One particular night is worth recollecting. All of us rushed into the bunker about lOp.m and came out of it only the next day about 3p.m, seventeen hours in the bunker without any drink or food.

Such being the situation, schools could not function and they were closed from July to October and once we re-opened about 30 percent of students had left the peninsula. So also some teachers.

Meanwhile as the Principal was on leave in Colombo the situation necessitated the appointment of a resident acting Principal. The mantle fell on the deserving shoulders of Mr.S. Thanapalan and he was appointed Acting Principal on 1st August 1990.

With this background let us look into the activities of the college. Most of the school functions had to be called off except the Advanced Level Lunch and Upper School Sports Meet. Incidentally it is worth recording that in the past the sports meet had been held on the second Saturday in July. But a decision was made by the College to have the Sports Meet hereafter during the first term.

Though the situation was unfavourable to studies the college continued to maintain the high standard. In the Year 5 Scholarship examination of 1990 K.Mayoorathan was placed second in the District with an aggregate marks of 180.

At the G.C.E (OIL) examination of December 1989, held in April 1990, 155 students sat and 135 students passed in five or more subjects. At the G.C.E (A/L) examination, of August 1989 of the 134 who sat, 98 students qualified for University Admission With two students getting four A's in Physical Science and N.Subanesan apart from getting 4 A's in Biological Science, was placed first in the order of merit Island wide with an aggregate of 351 marks.

We were able to work out the First XI Cricket season in full. The First Eleven Team with Captain T.Satheesan had a successful season. The team played eight matches won 4, drew 2, lost one and one was abandoned due to rain. The under 17 team with P.T.Gershan as captain played four matches in the tournament organised by the Jaffna schools Cricket Association. We won one outright, one on first innings performance and lost two on first innings. The under 15 team with M.Rajasegaram as captain played just one match and lost it.

The highlight of the cricket season was that after a lapse of four years we were able to play the Central St. John's Match, popularly known as the "Battle of the North". Not only St .John's won the match by an innings but also it set two new records. St .John's amassed the highest total of the series 311 for 5 declared. S.Surenkumar scored the highest individual score of the series with 145 runs.

In Soccer the normal, First, Second and Third teams were not formed but the under 16 team and the under 14 team took part in the Milo National Soccer Tournament played during the second term. The under .16 team with R.Nishan as captain played two matches and won both and were to take part in Colombo for the next round but situation in Jaffna did not permit them to proceed. The under 14 team with G.Ratharamanan as Captain played 3 matches and lost all three. In Basket ball, the under 19 team with P.Ragavan as captain played three club matches, won one and lost two. The under 17 team with P.T.Gershan as captain played two club matches and lost both. The college revived Volley Ball with G.Rajmohan as captain. The usual co-curricular activities were not held this year. Three of our scouts S.Muhunthan, T.Arullakshman and N.Manotheeran obtained the President's Award.

Mr.A.K.Thambirajah, an old boy who joined the tutorial staff in April 1965 after graduating from the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya completed twenty five years of dedicated service' to the college. He was Vice Patron of the English Union and Master-in-charge of Peto House. Mr.S.Kanagasabapathy joined the college as Assistant to the Librarian and was transferred to the college office in 1978 also completed twenty five years of loyal service. Mr.M.Nadarajah, an old boy who joined as Fees Clerk also completed twenty five years of loyal service. He was also in charge of the hostel accounts when hostel was functioning.

Mr.T.K.Shanmugalaingam who joined the staff in 1980 retired under the special concessions granted by the government. He taught Physics in the Advanced Level class with great acceptance.

The year under review saw the untimely death of a teacher and two students. Mr.K.P.Sivarajah who joined the staff in 1979 as a teacher of Commerce in the Advanced Level classes was a successful teacher. A teacher much loved by his colleagues and students he was a victim of a bomb dropped by a new of plane that appeared in the Jaffna sky on 8th August 1990. K.Logeudra student of year XI and Edward Prasannah, student of year five also passed away under tragic circumstances. Mr.A.C.Canagarajah. old boy, a highly qualified Engineer who was appointed Manager in early 1990 also passed away in the course of the year in Colombo. Dr.A.V.A Vethanayagam, a very distinguished old boy who was one of the architects of St. John's to remain a non fee levying private school and the President of the Ter Jubilee Celebration committee also passed away this year.

The Old Boys' Association, Jaffna was active as usual. The Johnian Sports Club won the Shabra Trophy Cricket Tournament. The OBA South Sri Lanka held a Raffle Draw to help the displaced students of St. John's College. The Old Boy's Association branches in Toronto, U.K and Australia were also active.

The year under review was a period of uncertainty with military operations reaching a peak. As a result education suffered heavily apart from the loss of people who were dear and near to us and material loss to the people of North.

1991
With the return of normalcy in the distant horizon, the college carried on its activities through thick and thin. Most of the school activities were either called off or conducted on a low-key. In the absence of a democratic set up for education, students, mostly senior students kept away from school and the day to day administration was a difficult task to perform. Still, with the unreserved support of dedicated staff, the Acting Principal held the fort, in the best of way possible, in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessors. Changes in the infra structure of administration was desired to strengthen and support the Acting Principal.

The Governing Body appointed Mr.S.Kanapathippillai and Mr.K.Ganeshalingam as Co-Vice Principals from July 15th 1991. Mr.Kanapathippillai who is one of the few jubiliarians joined the staff in January 1963. He was given the Grade One Special Post in 1986. He was the Sectional Head of Arts and Commerce. He was also the Senior Hostel Master and Master-in-charge of Catering. Mr.Ganeshalingam joined the staff in 1967. He was given the grade One Special Post in 1986. He is the Sectional head of Science and as Master-in-charge of the Time-table, he handles a difficult job well. Mr. S. Antonypillai was appointed Middle School Supervisor in January 1991. He is an old boy, a former Soccer captain and Senior Prefect, winner of the highest award for sports at St .John's the Johnian Eagle and a Mathematics trained teacher.

Dr.T.W.Jeyakularajah was appointed Manager of the college from May 1st 1991. He succeeded Mr.A.C.Canagarajah who resigned in April. Dr. Jeyakularajah is another distinguished old boy and social worker. He was also Manager of Nuffield School, Kaithady, President of Jaffna YMCA and President of Jaffna District Amateur Athletic Association.

Mr.S.P.Jeevanantham. who joined the staff in 1958 retired in December 1991. He was Middle School Supervisor and later Head Master of Primary School. He was a very loyal and dedicated teacher.

Mr.M.V.Chelliah our Head Cook in Boarding also retired after thirty five years of loyal service to the hostel. He was loved by the boarders for his paternal care.

On the academic side the G.C.E (O/L) examinations of December 1990 and 1991 were held simultaneously in December 1991. The number that applied and the number that sat the examination reflects the pathetic situation the students were in. At the G.C.E (O/L) examination of December 1990, 118 students applied and only 53 sat, out of which 44 qualified for advanced Level studies. In the G.C.E (O/L) examination of December 1991, 154 applied and only 69 sat the examination and 53 qualified for Advanced Level studies with one student obtaining distinctions in all the eight subjects.

The G.C.E (A/L) examination of August 1990 was held as a special examination in April 1991. Here again 173 students applied and only 46 students sat the examination from Jaffha. The other students appeared from Colombo and other centres in South Ceylon. Of the 46 who sat from Jaffna 31 qualified for admission to the Universities with K.Aingaran (Physical Science), D.A.Loganathan and S.Sivaganesh. (Bio Science) getting 4A's each. The G.C.E (AlL) examination of August 1991 was held in April 1992. Of the 92 who applied 64 appeared from Jaffna and 16 sat from Colombo. Of the 80 who sat, 46 qualified to enter universities.

Co-curricular activities suffered a set back. The only activity worth mentioning is the performances of the Quiz Team. The team won the Championship Shield in the U.N. Environmental Day Competition. Scouting at St. John's completed 75 years of dedicated service to the college and the community at large.

The under 19 Cricket team with K.Prashanthan as captain played three club matches and one school match - won one and drew the other three. With M.Kandeepan as captain the under 17 team played two inter school matches and both ended in draw. The under 15 team with B.Shankar as captain played only one match which ended in a draw. In Soccer the under 19 team with K.Prashanthan as captain played four matches, won two and drew two. The under 17 team, under the captaincy of A.S.Selvadurai played four matches, drew one and lost three. The under 15 team with V.S.Nirmalananthan played four matches; won three and lost one. In Basket o Ball the under 19 team with B.Mathanmohan as captain played four club matches won one and lost three. The under 17 team with J.Jeiram as captain lost the only match played.

Major General E.G.Thevanayagam, a distinguished old boy and one time President of the Old Boy's Association (South Ceylon) passed away during the year. Mr.C.J.Eliathamby who joined the staff in 1948 with a teaching experience of thirteen years at Kopay Christian College and NalIur Training College passed away on 28th November 1991. He was a successful teacher of Tamil and Geography in the H.S.C and entrance classes. He functioned as Middle. School Supervisor, Master-in-charge of Peto House, Hostel Master, President of the Teacher's Guild and Member of the College Advisory Board.

The Old Boy's Association continued to be active and a tower of strength to the college.

Before concluding this chapter two more observations are to be made. The college was unable to publish the magazine last year. This year too conditions were not favourable and added to it was non-availability of stationery. But the activities of the college are to be recorded for future references. With this in view an abridged edition of the magazine covering a two year period (91/92) was published. Another development was that from 1980 the Teachers' Guild of the college had been asking the college administration for the inclusion of a teacher representative in the Joint Committee. We are happy that this year a teacher representative was appointed to the Joint Committee.

A long felt need for the children of the Middle School was fulfilled this year. To bring out the latent talents of the young students, the Middle School Day was introduced. Competitions in co-curricular activities especially cultural programmes and physical display were introduced as major programmes. It helps the parents to know the talents of their children, and also provides an opportunity for them to meet and discuss their children's progress in studies with the teachers.

1992
The year dawned without any sign of political solution in view. There was no change in the day to day life of the people. Fear, despondency, anguish and destruction were bequeathed to 92 by 91. Students continued to study under pressures of external environment. Yet students of St .John's continued to do their best under the guidance of an ever dedicated staff.
'

On the retirement of the Primary School Head Master Mr.S.P.Jeevanantham by the end of last year, Mr.N.J.Gnanaponrajah was appointed in his place. Mr.Gnanaponrajah, an old boy, joined the . staff in 1980, underwent the Primary Training at Kopay Teachers Training College in 1985, and later graduated from the University of Peradeniya. He had been a boarding house master, master-in-charge of S.C.M and was the coach of under 17 Hockey team.

Mr.K.Ganeshalingam our Co-Vice Principal completed 25 years of loyal and dedicated service at St. John's. He joins the galaxy of a few jubilarians at the College.

In the year 5 scholarship examination of 1992, A.Sanjeevan and K.Ahilan obtained 184 and 173 marks respectively. The G.C.E (OiL) December 1992 examination also produced good results. Of the 107 students who sat the examination 96 qualified for Advanced Level studies with two students obtaining 8 distinctions each and another 9 getting 7 Distinctions each. At the G.C.E (A/L) examination of August 1992, 98 students sat and 64 qualified for University admission with L.Segaran and S.Sivavakeesar getting 4A's each in Physical Science. On the basis of the School Performance Indices St. John's was placed second Island wide and 32 students were selected to various faculties of the universities.

The Social Science forum which caters to the interests of year 10 and 11 students completed 25 years of service. The forum conducts competitions among the students of year 4 to year 11 on topics like "Know Your School" arid "Know Your District".

At the English day competitions held at District Level, our students came off with flying colours, winning 11 first places, 7 second places and 6 third places. Since interaction among schools during the period was difficult, competitions in the other fields were not held.

The under 19 Cricket team with M.Kandeepan as Captain played six school matches and one with the University of Jaffna and all matches.ended in draw. Kandeepan had a very successful season with the bat scoring three centuries with two not out. "The Battle of the North" ended in a draw with Kandeepan scorisng 76 runs in the first innings and A.Yogadas claiming 5 wickets for 76 runs. The Under 17 team captained by M .Thushara played three tournament matches and one friendly match. On first innings performance we lost two and won one. The friendly match ended in a draw. The Under 15 team with J.N.Rajendram as Captain participated in the tournament organised by the Jaffna Schools Cricket Association and~ had to be satisfied with the runner up berth.

In Soccer, our Under 19, Under 17 anSI Under 15 teams fared well. The Under 19 team led by B.Selvajit played 7 matches, won 5, drew one and lost one. The Under 17 team with M.Uthayashankar as Captain played. 6 matches
won one, drew two and lost three. The Under 15 team with captain N.S.Rajeev, remained unbeaten after having played six matches. As we could not get enough schools playing Hockey, we took part in a tournament organised for clubs, apart from playing one school match which we lost. Irrespective of the age groups, we entered two teams A and B in the tournament. The A team played four matches won one, drew one and lost two. The B team drew one and lost two. Teams A and B were captained by B Selvajit and S.Rudralingam respectively. With P.T.Gershan as Captain, the Under 19 Basket Ball team played four club matches and one against the Jaffiia University team and won two and lost three. The Under 17 team with T. Sutharshanan as Captain could not play any matches as no other schools had Under 17 team. The Volley Ball. team under the captaincy of E.Amold entered the Inter Schools tournament organised by the Jaffna Volley ball Association but the toürnament was postponed to 1993. The Under
17 Badminton team led by T.Rohan played four matches, won three and lost one. The Under 15 team with T.C.Sutharshan as Captain played three singles and two doubles against the University of Jaffna Girl's team and lost all the games. In the Chess Tournament organised by the Department of Education, N.S.Rajeev and M.Thusara came second and fourth respectively.

Mas.P.Manivannan, student in the Advanced Level Commerce class, died after a brief illness. Mrs.N.Yogarajah, who joined the staff in 1945 and retired in 1978 entered into glory during the course of the year. She was for many years teacher in the Kindergarten classes and fitted in very well with the small children.

The Old Boys' Associations in Jaffiia, South Ceylon, Toronto, U.K and Australia were active during the year and they were a source of inspiration to the College.

A NEW CHOICE

1993
The Rt. Rev. Kenneth Michael James Fernando, the 13th Bishop of Colombo made his first pastoral visit to Jaffna in January 1993. He officially visited St.John's College on the 13th. He addressed the staff and students at the Special Assembly. In the course of his address, he said that justice and peace are not the concerns of politicians only; they are everybody's concern and all should work for it He commended the students on maintaining good results at the examinations, inspite of the many difficulties faced by them. Then he outlined the three aspects of sound education; developing a balanced mind; developing a healthy body and building up a social awareness. He explained social education as "involving the acceptance of all people as brothers and sisters, that is, learning not to make distinctions based on caste, religion, social or economic status; learning to grant the same rights and freedoms to all, learning to observe human rights for all; learning to follow merit as the criterion".

To the students and staff who have been living under the trauma of a war situation~ these words of wisdom from the Bishop gave them courage and confidence to go through life. His speech endorsed the aspirations of the Tamils. Had these words been accepted by the politicians in the South, this country would not have plunged into a mess it is today.

The year started off on a happy note with the Bishop's visit. But this happiness did not last long, for, a few months later, Dr.E.S.Thevasagayam, the Principal of the College who came with a mission, the mission of re-building St. John's structurally, retired from his post. He came to St. John's with plans of putting up new buildings for which he had a five year plan. But his plans were not implemented due to the ground situation in Jaffna. The new science complex, that he started could not be completed to time but he left behind a fund to complete the building. During his principalship, he introduced changes in the 'Honours' grade system to encourage students in the classroom attainments and formulated a set of guidelines for the award of academic and sports awards. He introduced 'house keeping' committees to improve the general appearance of the college premises. He realised the financial difficulties encountered by the staff both tutorial and non tutorial immediately after the Indian Peace Keeping Forces Operation and invested with the College a sum of Rs 25,000 from which members could get a loan on an easy term of repayment.

Mrs.D.Thevasagayam played a supportive role in the life of her husband. A lady noted for her hospitality, she too played her part in the life of the College. She helped the school in the Primary Section by teaching English in an honorary capacity.

When Dr.Thevasagayam retired. Mr.Thanapalan was the natural choice to succeed him. Mr.Tkanapalan was fully armed to take up the responsibility. His background as an old boy, teacher, Middle School Supervisor, Vice Principal and Acting Principal gave him enough experience to occupy the elevated position. Already as an Acting Principal, he had exhibited his prowess in administration. Above all these, he had the unreserved support of the staff, a necessary ingredient for one to administer an institution like St .John's College. He also had the full backing of the old boys. Though the ground situation was a challenging one, the experience he gained as Acting Principal stood in good stead. He was appointed Principal on May 1st 1993 and installed on 19 June 1993 at an impressive service at the Church of St.John the Baptist.

Towards the latter part of 1993, Mr N J Gnanaponrajah, the Supervisor of Primary school was selected by the Governing Body for further studies in the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Mr.D.J.Thevathasan, an old boy and teacher in the Primary School for more than twenty years was appointed Supervisor in an acting capacity. Two more members of the staff joined the elite band of Jubilarian Teachers at College. Mr.M.S.Kathirgamathamby who joined the staff in 1968 had been a successful teacher of Tamil. Social Studies and Hinduism in the upper school. He had been the Vice Patron of Tamil and Hindu Societies, Master in charge of Pargiter House, President of the Teachers' Guild and Editor (Tamil) of the College Magazine. Mr.N.Mylvaganam, also joined the staff in 1968 as a teacher of History and Political Science in the Advanced Level classes. Tamil and Social Studies in the Ordinary Level Classes. He had been the Master-in-charge of Johnstone House. President of the Teacher's Guild and Vice Patron of the Interact Club.

Mr.M.Johnpillai, the Senior Laboratory Assistant retired from service in July 199~3. He joined the College in 1953 and was a loyal and dedicated laboratory assistant for a long period. He was well liked by the staff and students.

In spite of the difficult conditions, our students continued to produce good results at public examinations. In the year 5 scholarship examination of 1993, our school was placed second in the district and two of our students S.Sabesan and K.Ainkaran obtained 186 and 179 marks respectively.

In the G.C.E (OIL) December 1993, of the 118 students who sat 107 qualified for Advanced Level studies. A noteworthy feature of the results was that though no student obtained distinction marks in all the eight subjects, 49 students obtained 4 distinctions or more with 14 students getting 7 distinctions each. In the G.C.E (A/L) examination of August 1993, 110 students sat the examination and 90 qualified to apply for university admissions. In Bio Science, K.Vithiyan, S.Sutharsamohan and S.Saieeswaran were placed 3rd 4th and 8th in the district and in Physical. Science, R.Pratheepan and S.Shanthan were placed 5th and 9th respectively in the district.

In an all island competition conducted by the Saiva Paripalana Sabai, T.Thirukumaran secured a gold medal. Our Quiz team which participated in the World Environmental Day, obtained the Championship Shield for the second year in succession.. R.Senthooran was awarded the President's Award for scouting. As in the previous year, our co-curricular activities were limited for reasons everybody knows.

In Cricket, the First eleven team with T.Bishman as captain played 6 inter school matches and we won two, drew 3 and lost 1. In the Big Match against Jaffna Central College, our first Eleven team was on the verge of defeat with 86 for 8 in the second innings. A magnificient rearguard performance by B.Sanjeev and G Sritharan with an unbroken 9th wicket partnership of 111 runs brought the score to a respectable 198 .for 8. B.Sanjeev remained not our on 55 and G.Sritharan not our 56 and the match ended in a draw. The under 17 team under the captaincy of B.Sanjeev played six matches in the tournament organised by the Jaffna Schools Cricket Association, won five and lost the finals against Jaffna Hindu College. The Under 15 Team with T.Narmathan as captain played four matches in the same tournament, won 2 and lost 2. The first eleven Soccer team with E.Arnold as captain nlayed seven matches won 2, drew 4 and lost one. The second eleven with N.Navagoban as captain won 5, drew 1, lost 1. The third eleven under the captaincy of T.C. Sutharshan won 4, drew 2 and lost 1. The College was able to play three club matches in Hockey with J.Jeiram as the captain of the First team. We won one match and lost the other two. The second team with A.K.Ananth as captain played only two matches lost one and drew the other. The under 19 Basket Ball Team under the captaincy of J.Jeiram played two school matches; won one and lost the other and in the two club matches lost both. The under 17 team with D.J.Jeyakularajah as captain played two school matches and won both but lost the third match against the Jaffna University B team. The postponed Volley Ball Tournamnent organised by the Jaffna Volley Ball Association took place in 1993. The under 19 team played four matches with two wins and two loss. The Under 17 team with captain N.S.Rajeev participated in the tournament organised by the Department of Education Jaffna, and became Jaffna District Champions. In the indoor games tournament organised by the Department of Education, our students fared well winning the first three places in Table Tennis (Singles) and in Doubles both Champion and Runner up positions and in Badminton, we got the Doubles Championship and Runner up and third places in singles. All in all almost all teams went through their seasons.

Five former members of the tutorial staff of the college passed away in the course of the year. Miss. Lydiya S. Thambyrajah entered into glory on the .11th of August 1993. She joined the staff as a teacher of English in the Middle School and retired in 1977. She was a successful teacher of English and also helped the Cub Pack. Her interests in Elocution and Drama helped the school a lot. Mr.W.T. Gunaratnam. an old boy, a Senior Prefect and winner of the coveted General Excellence award while at school, after graduation came back to his Alma Mater in 1950 with about ten years of teaching experience. His forte was Physics. A strict disciplinarian in the classrooms, he was a good friend to his students after school hours. He was Master-in-charge of Peto House and Hostel Master. Mr.J.R.Gnanapragasam also an old boy and Cricket captain (1928) during his school days taught in Government Schools and came to St. John's in 1973. He was appointed Head Master of the Primary School in which capacity he continued till 1978. From 1978 to 1984 he was in charge of the Welfare Office. He also helped the school by coaching the Under 14 and Under 16 Cricket teams.

Mr.Peter Somasundaram was a successful teacher of Mathematics. A soft spoken and genial gentleman, he handled one of the most difficult job namely drafting the Time Table. He was also in charge of the Chess team. He retired in 1964.

Mr.K.Nesiah another illustrious product of St. John's College also passed away in the course of this year. He excelled as a student. He took part in a British Empire Essay Competition with participants drawn from four continents and won the second prize. He joined the staff of the College as a teacher of History and made the dull, monotonous subject according to students into an interesting one. He left St. John's and joined St. Thomas' College from where he went on to the University .of Ceylon as Lecturer in Education. He was influenced by Gandhian Philosophy, wore Kadhar and the National dress. He was also one of the pioneers of co-operative movement in Jaffna. A much sought after speaker he entered into glory on 30th December

Mr.C.Canagaiah, another active old boy passed away in Februarxz 1993. A member of the Football and Athletic teams while at school, he was Secretary of the Welfare Association and Treasurer of the Old Boys' Association.

The Old Boys Associations continued to be active. The OBA, Jaffna in collaboration with the students and parents celebrated the International Teacher's day at a special assembly in the college. Jubilarian members of the staff were presented with a shield each and hosted the staff to tea. The OBA South Ceylon as usual was in the forefront in raising funds for the College. This year they organised a Musical programme on 14th August 1993 with Mrs Vani Jeyaram participating. From the proceeds Rs 100,000 was released to the College and another sum of Rs 47,300 was kept in the Association fund, to be utilised by the Principal later. OBA, Toronto also extended financial assistance to the College during the year. They sent $1200 towards the maintenance of the College buildings. The UK and Melbourne branches of the OBA also were active.

The College released it's magazine this year covering 1992 and 1993 period. It was an abridged edition but contained all the inforrnations about the College, the old boys are interested in.

1994
With the general elections expected around the middle of the year and people praying for peace and prosperity activities at St.John's moved on in an extra-ordinary situation to which we are used to live with since 1987. Not much of activities were carried out except for the academic performance and the games. The visit of the Bishop of Colombo accompanied by his wife and the Archdeacon of Jaffna Ven Dr.Donald.J.Canagaratnam and the retirement of Mrs.V.P.Sugirtharatnam who served in the Primary School for about twelve years were the noteworthy events. Mrs.Sugirtharatnam who joined the staff in 1982 was a strict disciplinarian with a kind heart, she was in charge of the Cub Pack and Pargiter House and was also Games Secretary in the Primary School. She retired early to join her husband in Colombo.

The academic performance of the College was highly commendable, with 93 of the 112 candidates in the G.C.E (O/L) Examination of December 1994 qualifying for Advanced Level studies. Two students obtained Distinctions in all the eight subjects and 60 students getting four or more distinctions each. In the Advanced Level examination of August 1994, 117 students sat the examination and 81 qualified for University admissions. S.Srishànkar and B.Murugathasan were placed 5th and 8t1, respectively in the District Rank. There weren't any impressive co-curricular activities except S.Kandeepan getting the President's Award in scouting.

The First Eleven Soccer team captained by A.S.Selladurai played nine matches won 2, drew 5 and lost two. The second eleven with V.S.Nirmalananthan as captain played nine matches won 3, drew 2 and lost 4. The third Team captained by A.T.Gowripahan played eight matches, won three, drew two and lost three. The First Eleven Cricket Team with B Sanjeev as captain played eight matches, won one, drew six and lost the Big Match. We had three centurions during the season with A.T.Aravinthan, who scored two centuries, 126 against Canagaratnam M.M.V and 128 against St.Patrick's College, S.Vimalan with 101 N.O against Jaffna Hindu College and B.Sanjeev 100 N.O against Skandavarodaya. In bowling S.Thayanesan performed a rare hat trick against Kokuvil Hindu College. The under 17 team captained by V.S.Nirrnalananthan played six matches in the tournament conducted by the Jaffna Schools Cricket Association, won 4 and lost 2. The third team with A.T.Gowripahan played four matches in the same tournament and won 2 and lost 2. As hardly any schools play Hockey, we had to face club matches. With N.Navagoban as captain, the team played five club matches, lost 4 and drew one. The under 17 team with J.S.Jebarajah as captain played one match against the Jaffna University Girls' and won by one goal. The under 19 Basket Ball team with S.Ruthiralingam as captain played in the Schools' tournament organised by the YMCA and won one and lost three. The under 17 team with C.H.Rajkumar as Captain played in the same tournament winning one and losing three.

The Table Tennis team with captain V. S.Nirmalananthan entered the tournament organised by the Department of Education, won all the titles at both Divisional and District levels. The Badminton team also did well with captain S.Rüthiralingam at both levels. The under 19 Volley Ball team captained by N.S.Rajeev participated in the Inter School Tournament conducted by the Department of Education and qualified to play at District Level. The Under 17 team with captain T.C.Sutharshan took part in the same tournament, was placed runner up.

Old Boys' Association here and abroad continued to take a keen interest in the welfare of the College. With the funds sent by the OBA's in the U.K, Australia and Canada, scholarship endowments have been set up by the College. The OBA Jaffna apart from celebrating the "International Teachers Day" set up a fund for the staff.

Our thanks are due to Trinity Grammar School of Victoria, Australia for instituting the Phyllis Gibb Memorial Scholarship through the OBA Australia.

MASS EXODUS

1995
The overwhelming majority secured by the Peoples Alliance gave the government the mandate to solve the problems of the Tamils through negotiated settlement. In keeping with its promises to the voters the government started peace moves and finally settled down to discuss the Tamils' Problems with the LTTE. Both sides declared cessation of hostilities on January 8th, The talks went on dilly-dallying. But by April 19th the talks failed, much to the disappointment of the peace loving population.

With the talks failing, both sides rejuvenated themselves and scattered armed conflicts were witnessed culminating in July with a major military operation in Valigamam West. Schools were closed for about two weeks. People of Valigamam West were displaced and took shelter in schools and temples. St.John's College was one of the refugee camps. But by about the third week, curfew was lifted. military operations suspended and the displaced people got back to their names. Though schools re-opened by the last week of July attendance of students was poor due to shelling and bombing and parents started taking their children to safer areas. This situation continued until October when the government forces started the Riviresa Operation from Palaly. As the army advanced towards Jaffha town people from Valigamam were asked to. leave to Thenmarachchy or Wanni and on the 30"' of October people trekked with what ever belongings they could take. Kandv Road was a sea of heads with people. young and old. drenched in heavy rains, moving at snails' speed without any idea as to where they were going and why they were going. In about twenty four hours. Jaffna was a deserted area with a very few people taking shelter in schools and temples. But this very few also had to leave and go elsewhere. Refugees also flocked into St.John's College. uninvited. Once they were in, they were to be looked after with their basic needs. The Church gave them meals for a day and later the College provided them with dry rations as long as they stayed.

The Principal, both the vice-Principals, some members of the staff. the Vicar of St. John Church and their families with some Church members stayed at.the College hoping they could stay to look after the belongings of the College. But that was not to be. On the 13"' of November as bombing. shelling and firing came closer end closer to the College. they had no alternative but to leave the place that they loved so much.

Earlier in the year the Bishop was in Jaffna on the 4th of February on his pastoral visit, accompanied by Rev.D. J. Canagaratnam, the Archdeacon of Jaffna among others. But the visit abruptly ended due to the sudden death of the Archdeacon who succumbed to a heart attack at a confirmation service in Kopay on the fifth. A service was held at St. John's Church on the following day and the remains taken to Vavuniya.

Mr.S.Thanapalan, the Principal completed 25 years of loyal and dedicated service to his Alma Mater in October. Mr.D.J.Thevathasor who was performing as Primary School Head Master was confirmed in his position in January. The College introduced "Super Proficiency", over and above the Honours Grade which has been the highest grade up to now in a student's classroom attainment. Super Proficiency is given to students who score an average of 90 marks or above in the three term tests. The G.C.E (O/L) examinations were not held this year.

Our activities on the playing field were limited, but we managed to go through the full cricket season. With Captain G. Sritharan, we played eight matches, won one and drew the others, G.Sritharan scored a captain's innings of 125 runs against Jaffna College and another, a hurricane 101 by S.B.Niroshan in the Big Match which ended in a draw. Our under 19 Volley Ball team with S.Vimalan as captain participated in the tournament for schools organised by the Department of Education and became District Champion. The Under 17 team with S.V.Gunaparan as Captain took part in the same tournament and had to be satisfied with runners-up position. Our Athletes took part in the Divisional Athletic Meet organsied by the Department of Education and got 18 first places, 19 second and 13 third places out of 41 events worked out. Our relay teams (under 15.17 & 19) took part in the Relay Carnival organsied by the Jaffna District Amateur Athletic Association and won four first places. The under 15 and under 17 teams were adjudged Champions in the meet. The under 15, under 17 Cricket Teams, Hockey, Basket Ball and Football teams also played matches during the year.

The College was able to complete three classrooms in the Science Complex and Advanced Level students started occupying them. A serious set back in our College had been the closure of the hostel from 1990 when we lost practically everything in the hostel: beds, utensils, crockery etc. The school has been giving serious thought to revive the hostel, but the ground situation was not ideal and opinion was divided. But in 1995 the school felt not only need but also the urgency to revive it.

Since money was lacking the College approached many sources and among them, the Development Aid Section of the Canadian Embasy came to the rescue of the College and. granted three hundred and ninety thousand rupees. With this money repairs were attended to, utensils to the value of nearly one lakh bought and the hostel was~ reopened in September with four students, though many had applied. But in a month's time, all the efforts of the College were dashed to the grounds and we went back to 1990 position.

Three Jubilarians, two from the tutorial staff and one from the non-tutorial staff retired during the year. Mr S.K. Mahalingam, an outstanding sportsrnan of the College during his student days, joined the staff in 1959. His contribution in the playing field was commendable and during later years was a successful teacher of English.

Mr.A.K.Thambirajah, another old student of the College, joined the staff in 1965 and had been a successful teacher of English in the upper school. He was a good example of a teacher who maintained discipline in and out of the classrooms without the use of a cane. Mr.M.Nadarajah, another old student, of the College joined the office staff in 1965 as Accounts Clerk, and was in charge of the hostel accounts as well. He was a good link between old boys, parents and the College.

The Old Boys Associations here and abroad continue to be a tower of strength to the College.

1996
On the 13th of November 1995, 112 refugees at the College had to leave the premises not knowing where to go. The presence of Rev. S. P.Nesakumar, the Vicar of St. John the Baptist Church among the refugees gave them courage, confidence and inspiration to face the situation. Like Moses leading his flock to the land of promise he shared the responsibility with the Principal to lead these people to a place that was to accommodate them. Having left St. John's around 8 p.m in fully packed buses, with shells like fire balls landing on either side of Kandy Road. in the Navatkuly open space, the journey proceeded with children, women and even grown up men holding their breath. After 40 hours of tedious journey, having had nothing to fill their stomachs the party reached Karuna Nilayam, Kilinochchi on the 15th where they were welcome with open hands. From then on they led a joint family system of life - common meals and common dormitory with no privacy for families. In a way this gave a good training, especially to the young people to face and tackle problems.

Before these people could settle down in the new environment, they had to face another sad event. Mr.S.A.Ganeshwaran. the Principal's Secretary who was among these people developed chest pain on the 16th night and passed away on admission to the Kilinochchi Hospital. Mr.Ganeshwaran joined the College as Principal's Secretary in 1984. after many years of service in the Plantations. He was a hard worker and a tower of strength to the Principal. Perfection was the hail mark of his work.

As days passed on. the principal opened an office at Karuna Nilayarn and looked after the welfare of the displaced students and staff in Wanni and Thenmarachchy. He risked his life by frequently crossing the Kilali lagoon to see what he could do to help them. Meanwhile he explored the possibilities of opening pocket schools in Kilinochchi and Thenmaraehchy and once the Governing Body endorsed his suggestion, he flung into action backed by his loyal staff. It was decided to combine St .John's and Chundikuii Girls' College students and open three pocket schools at. Kilinochchi, Chavakachcheri and Point Pedro. Mrs.T.Rajaratnam, Vice Principal of Chundikuli Girls' College was to be in charge of Point Pedro school, Mr.K.Ganeshalingam Co-Vice Principal, St .John's to be in charge of Chavakachcheri and Mr.S.Kanapathippillai Co-Vjce Principal, St. John's to be charge of Kilinochchi with Mr.S.Thanapa]an Principal, St.John's College in over all charge of the three schools. All arrangements finalised. the Principal left to Thenmarachchy to open the schools on the l7th of April.

But all the efforts were made futile when the Army started a military operation at Thenmarachchy and both the pocket schools were closed on the l9th. But at Kilinochchi the school went on at YMCA premises for some days and later at Karuna Nilayam premises. It was a wonderful experience to our students. Firstly we had co-education. Secondly our classrooms were under the mango trees with the sky as roof and seats were wooden planks.

The Bishop. Rt .Rev. Kenneth M.J.Fernando. when he visited the school at Kilinochchi highly commended the way it was run. He also paid his compliments to the staff. As days passed, parents started taking their children to Colombo and other places, and teachers too left to Colombo one by one. So much so, by July, from 285 the number of students dropped to 20 and we had no alternative but to close the school.

Meanwhile, people started moving back to Valigamam from the 20th of April and our Principal with some members of staff got back to the College on the 27th to see most of the buildings badly damaged and the premises resembling a jungle. He immediately set the ball rolling, got the premises cleared of debris and shrubs and re-opened the school on May 13th with about 45% of the students attending and many members of the staff yet to report.

Let us pause for a moment and look into the damages incurred by the college. due to Riverasa 1 operation. Damage to the buildings was heavy, no building was spared. The Jubilee Hall. Memorial Block, Hostel Kitchen and Evarts hostel were the worst affected. Documentary records, laboratory equipments, sports goods and furniture were destroyed or removed. The estimated cost of repairs, reconstruction and re-equipment was more than rupees ten million.

The Principal immediately plunged into action by attending to minor repairs and step by step went on repairing and reconstructing and the grateful to his Excellency David Tatham, High Commissioner for United Kingdom in Sri Lanka who after visiting St. John's on 3lst of October and seeing for himself the extent of the damages, granted rupees One Million Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand towards the re-construction of the Jubilee Hall. We hope that the St. John's community of old boys, parents and well-wishers will take the cue from His Excellency and contribute their mite to put back the College into its former shape, nay, better shape.

Inspite of displacements and closure of schools, our students never lost touch of their studies. They maintained our standards. In the G.C.E (O/L) examination of December 1995, held in July 1996, 75 out of 88 who sat the examination qualified for Advanced Level Studies. B.Gajendran obtained distinctions in all the eight subjects and ten others got seven distinctions each. At the Advanced Level Examination of August 1995 of the 103 candidates 43 were selected to various faculties of the Universities.

Sports activities for the year were curtailed as implements were lost and the school was primarily cóncerned with restructuring and rebuilding.

The year saw the retirement of Mr.N.Mylvaganam, a highly successful teacher of Social Studies who authored many books on the subject. His contribution to the co-curricular activities of the College, especially the Interact Club is highly commendable. Mr.P.S.Arulrajah, another loyal worker left the College this year. He served the College as Principal's Secretary and later as Welfare Officer. He was an asset to any Principal and maintained a cordial relationship with the Old Boys and parents. Mr.M.Kurusamy, the affable canteen manager also left us this year. He was a dedicated worker, looking after the interests of the students and staff.

Like a patient being visited by friends and relations, the badly wounded St. John's College also had many dignitaries who were concerned with the College. Hon.Richard Pathirana, Minister of Education and Higher Education accompanied by the Deputy Minister Prof.Vishvawarnapala and the Provincial Director of Education, North East Province, Miss.T.Periyathamby visited the College on May 17th with the G.A. Jaffna Mr.C.Pathmanathan.. His Lordship Rt.Rev.Kenneth M.J.Ferñando, Bishop of Colombo visited the College in the company of Dr.E.S.Thevasagayam, Chairman,Governing Body and Ven. J. Sarvananthan Archdeacon of Jaffna.

N.Suganthan, an Advanced Level student and a member of the first eleven Foot Ball team passed beyond the veil due to a bomb blast in Jaffna. The cruel hand of death snatched away another loyal Old Boy and active member of the Old Boys' Association of South Ceylon. Mr.M. Wijeyaratnam, a Soccer player of repute, who represented the College team and the Sri Lanka schools team during his school days passed away this year. A staunch supporter of the College, the imposing Cricket Score Board he donated along with Mr.M.W.Rajasingam to St.John's College is a testimony for his love and devotion to his Alma Mater. A selfless social worker, the Tamil Community has ever seen also entered into glory on the 4th of March this year. Miss.Muriel Hutchins a Post Graduate Teacher of English Literature was fed up with teaching Senior Locals in England and decided to come to Ceylon to "do nothing but preach". She came as a missionary in 1927 and took to teaching in Jaffna. But she answered the divine call for social service and gave up teaching and started a home among the thick jungles of Kilinochcbi. She established Karuna Nilayam in 1955. a home for orphans. disabled and discarded women on a six acre plot of land donated by the Government.

She laboured hard to build it up. The full grown mango trees, coconut and palmyrah palms that bear fruits now were all planted by her hands. The Chapel built with a combination of oriental and occidental architecture reflects how deeply she loved the Tamil people, irrespective of religion. caste or creed. The people of Wanni held her at high esteem, a fact evidenced by the huge crowd that attended her funeral and the spontaneous manner in which all shops, schools and other establishments closed to pay her last respects.

The Old Boys' Association, Jaffra was unable to function this year, but the South Ceylon. U.K. Toronto and Australia branches were very active.

The College was unable to release the College magazine in 1994, & 1995 for reasons known to every body. But this year we managed, under very difficult circumstances, to collect back informations, as far as possible, and released one covering a three-year period (1994/95/96)

A MEMORABLE LANDMARK

1997
Rebuilding an institution from the ravages of a war is an uphill task. Yet it had to be done. During the latter part of 1996 and the whole of 1997, the College was primarily concerned with bringing back the College to its former splendour. With the available resources the Principal got the urgent repairs attended to and gradually the major repairs were accomplished. To run an educational institution efficiently, the attendance of the full quota of the tutorial staff is an indispensable ingredient. But at the moment, many of the teachers were yet to report for work. This posed a severe administration headache to the Principal. He surmounted this problem by appointing teachers on contract. One of the worst affected department at St. John's due to the war was games. It was reduced to nothing with all documents missing or destroyed and sports materials either damaged or removed. Undaunted, the Principal revived this department in double quick time and had the first school activity in games and athletics with the Primary School Sports Meet as an internal function.

As many school matters were to be sorted out the Ven. Archdeacon J.Sarvananthan, who had taken up the onerous duties of the Manager and the Chairman of the Governing Body, Dr.E.S.Thevasagayam visited the College in February and March respectively. The Primary schooI Head Master Mr.D.J.Thevathasan completed twenty five years of loyal service to the College. Mr.S.Kanapathippillai, co-Vice Principal retired with effect from the 31st of December, 1996. In humility, I quote from the 1997 Prize Day report of the Principal. "Mr.S.Kanapathippillai our Co-Vice Principal retired from service on the 31st of December 1996 after 34 years of loyal, devoted and dedicated service. He joined the Staff in January. 1963 and held various positions at school during his teaching career. His contribution as Chief Editor of the College Magazine was outstanding. Besides, he has been hostel master and caterer. Vice Patron of the Tamil and Hindu Manram. His experience and guidance were evident at Staff and Advisory Board meetings. His contribution to the school during his period of service is something immeasurable. We wish him a happy and contented retired life and extend our best wishes to Mrs.Kanapathippillai and children."

Though conditions were not favourable for studies, our students maintained a high standard in their examination performances. At the year five scholarship examination of 1996, 24 out of 47 qualified for scholarship with P.Piranavan placed fifth in the District with a score of 161 marks. 94 students sat the G.C.E (O/L) examination of December, 1996 and 75 qualified for Advanced Level Studies. Two students K.Mayoorathan and K.Gajan secured distinctions in all the eight subjects. In the G.C.E (A/L) examination of August 1996, 134 students appeared and 78 qualified for university admissions. B.Balamurali obtained 4 A' s in Mathematical Science.

In co-curricular activities this had been a very lean year. S.Ahilan who represented Jaffha Zone I won the First place in Vocal Music in a contest organised by the Education Department of North East Province, held in Trincomalee.

The Sports activities of the year started with the Primary school Sports Meet in February .and was followed by the Senior Inter House athletic Meet on the 19th of March with Dr. Devanesan Nesiah, a distinguished old boy of the College as Chief Guest. At the Divisional Athletic Meet conducted by the Department of Education, our athletes did well to secure 38 places out of 36 events worked out. At the Zonal Meet they won 23 places. The relay teams did very well securing four first places out of five at the Divisional Meet.

The First Eleven Cricket team played just one Inter School Match against St. Patrick's. College which ended in a draw. The second eleven did very well in the tournament. At the semi finals our team scored a mammoth total of 419 for 7 declared against Kokuvil Hindu College with skipper T.Gowripahan scoring a hurricane 236 runs with 18 sixes and 18 fours.

The cruel hand of death snatched away from our midst Rt. Rev. D.J.Ambalavanar, Bishop in Jaffna in October 1997. A distinguished old boy of our College, he was an erudite scholar and a man of strong convictions. His passing away was not only a loss to the church of South India but also to the entire Tamil Community. We are equally grieved to record the demise of yet another Bishop who though not an Old Boy of the College, yet presided over the destinies of the College for thirteen years as Archdeacon of Jaffna from 1969 to 1978 and later as Bishop of Colombo (1987-1992). Rt.Rev.J.J.Gnanapragasam passed beyond the veil in November, 1997.

Miss.LG.Thambiah who joined the staff in 1945 and retired after 38 years of devoted service, also passed away during the year. As a teacher of English, she won the admiration of her students. We thank God for the lives and services of the above three.

With the 175th Anniversary Celebrations knocking at the door, the Old Boys Associations in Sri Lanka and abroad revitalized themselves. The O.B.A South Sri Lanka released "The Johnian", a quarterly publication which we hope would be a bridge between the Old Boys and the College. They were also successful in putting the College and the O.B.A on the internet from July this year. On 27th September a cultural show to raise funds for the College was organised.

The O.B.A Jaffna revived its activities after a lapse of one year. The O.B.A Victoria and the Past Pupils Association in the U.K were, busy collecting funds for the College.

The College acknowledges with grateful thanks the liberal contribution of funds by the following; Her Excellency the President of Sri Lanka, the Trinity Grammar School, Australia, the Canadian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka and Mr V.N.Rasiah from U.K.

1998

St.John's College, founded in 1823 by Rev. Joseph Knight of the Church Missionary Society reached an important landmark when it celebrated 175th Anniversary on the 7th 8th and 9th of May this year. For three days students past and present, teachers, parents, friends and well wishers attended the celebrations with great enthusiasm. The presence of friends from the South reminded us of the days when the college was the conflux of varied cultures, faiths and languages. The renovated buildings with an additional new block and the eyergreen flower gardens presented a panoramic view of the college premises.

The celebrations commenced with a service of Thanks Giving at St. John the Baptist Church where Rt. Rev. Andrew Kurnarage, Bishop of Kurunagala was the preacher. In the course of his sermon he said "This is an occasion to remind ourselves of the vision, courage and sacrifices of the Missionaries, the past Principals and teachers and well wishers. From Rev. Knight to the present Principal St.John 's had been fortunate to have had the services of men of vision, faith and courage." The service was followed by an Assembly in the refurbished Peto Hall where the Senior Prefect of the College S. Rex Pratheepan welcomed the guests. Mr K.C.Logeswaran, Secretary to the Ministry of Posts and . Telecommunication and a distinguished Old Boy of the College released a commemorative stamp to mark the 175th Anniversary. This was followed by felicitation of the members of the staff, both tutorial and non tutorial who had completed twenty-five and fifteen years of service respectively. The former was awarded Gold and the latter Silver Medals. The Old Boys' Association. South Sri Lanka presented them with Mementos. Immediately after the assembly a building consisting of a Junior Laboratory. an Art room and a set of classrooms was declared open by Mr. S .Kanagaratnam. another distinguished. loyal Old Boy. The forenoon celebrations came to an end with lunch hosted by the Old Boys' Association, Jaffna. The afternoon proceedings started with the laying of foundation for an ambitious Administrative Block by Dr.E.S.Thevasagayarn, Chairman. C.M. S Governing Body. Mr. Ove Danboldt of the Norwegian Embassy unveiled the plaque. The, curtain came down for the day's proceedings with the Principal's tea, which was attended by a representative gathering.

The second day's programme commenced with the opening of the Rev. J.T.Arulanantham Memorial Science Complex by his son Dr.Pararasan Arulanantham. This was followed by a Cultural Programme in the Peto Hall where S.Ahilan, a student of the college gave a vocal carnatic music recital and the students of Chundikuli Girls' College presented a ballet depicting the major historical events of the College.. The Old Boys of the North and South entertained the visitors with a softball cricket match and fancy dress soccer match. Tea hosted by the staff brought the day's proceeding to a close.

The three days programme culminated with the Annual Prize Giving on the 9th with Mr.S.Sivathasan, President of the Old Boys Association. South Sri Lanka. Advisor to Her Excellency the President, and above all a very distinguished Old Boy of the College and Mrs Sarojini Sivathasan as the Chief Guests.

Organising a celebration for three consecutive days need minute planning and implementation. of the plans. Each event started on time and finished without encroaching into the event to follow. Visitors commended the meticulous planning and the punctuality and above all the orderliness with which students moved from one venue to another for the events. Discipline was at its best. We salute the Principal and his dedicated staff on maintaining the high standards that St.John's stood for.

The Old Boys' Association in Colombo, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.K celebrated the anniversary with great enthusiasm. Old Boys in Australia invited the Principal and his wife to join them in celebrating the historic event.

The year saw the passing away of two senior retired teachers of St. John's. Mr.R.S.Kandiah, an old boy, who joined the staff in 1962, retired in 1984 after contributing his best as a General Science teacher in the Middle and Upper School. He was also Master-in-charge of Thompson House and Secretary of the Teachers' Guild. Mrs.F.P.Nathaniel joined the college in 1959, taught Mathematics and English in the Middle School and retired in 1979. Mr.S R.Ratnasingam also an old boy who taught at the College for a short spell passed away after a brief illness.

Mr.Maithripaia Senanayake, a distinguished old boy was one of those to put St. John's on the national map of the country. On leaving the college he joined. the Government Service but found politics as his mission. He represented Medawachiya in the parliament for a very long time from 1947 and was Deputy Leader of the opposition and Acting Head of State on several occasions. He was Governor of North Central Province at the time of his death.

Mr S.K. Paramalingam, an outstanding sportsman the College produced in the late fifties also passed away during the year.

Our results at the public examinations continued to be of high standard. At the year 5 scholarship examination 22 students qualified for scholarships. At the G.C.E (O/L) Examination of December 1997. 95 appeared and 71 qualified for Advanced Level studies with A Dinesh Ebenezer and G.Senthan getting distinctions in all the eight subjects. 120 candidates sat the examination in December 1998 and 96 students qualified for Advanced Level studies with M.Mathuran getting eight distinctions. In the G.C.E (A/L) examination of August 1998, 66 students out of 98 qualified to apply for university admissions.

On the results of the Advanced Level Examination of August 1997, out of the 66 who qualified for university admission 41 were admitted to various faculties with K.Thivakar and A.TSureshkumar getting 4A's each in Physical Science and ranked 5th and 6th respectively in the district. In Bio Science T.Balamurukan and N.Niroshan obtained 4A 's and 2 A's and a B respectively and both were ranked 8th in the district. But S. Selvaganesh who got 2 A's and 2 B's was placed first in the district

In Games and Athletics our students maintained a high standard. The Primary School Athletic Meet was held on the 5th of March with Dr.& Mrs.A.Thirunavukikarasu as Chief Guests. The Senior Inter House Athletic Meet was held on the 28th of March with Mr.& Mrs. S.Kanapathippillai Vice-Principal emeritus, as Chief Guests. At Divisional level our athletes collected 21 first, 9 second and 9 third places. We were declared over all Champions including the Relays. At the Zonal Meets we got 14 first, 10 second and 4 third places. The Sub-Provincial Meet was held to select Athletes to the Provincial Meet and our students won 12 first, 3 second and 4 third places. But unfortunately our Athletes were not able to take part in the provincial.Meet due to lack of transport facilities.

Our First Eleven Cricket team with T.Gowripahan as captain played seven Inter-School matches and remained unbeaten. P.Dinesh became the only Centurion among the school boy cricketers in the North with 104 N.O. Three of our Cricketers T.Gowripahan, A.Dinesh Ebenezer and P.Dinesh were selected to the Jaffna District Schools Cricket team and the first two represented the team which participated in the Wesley College l25th Anniversary Six a side tournament in Colombo. T.Gowripahan added a feather to his cap when he represented the Jaffna District Cricket team, which toured South Sri Lanka in January 1998. The Under 17 and Under 15 teams with Captains A. Dinesh Ebenezer and V.Vishnuvarathan respectively participated in the tournament organised by the Jaffna Schools' Cricket Association and were placed Runners-up in their respective age groups.

In Soccer, our first and second eleven teams played eight matches each and the third eleven played seven matches. The First eleven won six. drew one and lost one while the second eleven won four, drew one and lost three. The Third Eleven won four, drew one and lost two. The first, second and third teams were captained by J.Rijold, A.Dinesh Ebenezer and T.Kajendran respectively. Under 19 and Under 17 Volley Ball Teams participated in the tournaments organised by the Department of Education, Jaffna and both teams became Runners up at the divisional level and were placed third at the zonal level. In Basket Ball both Under 19 and Under 17 teams participated in the Inter Schools tournament organised by the Hatton National Bank, Jaffna Branch. The under 19~team remained unbeaten. T.Gowripahan the captain was the only school boy selected to the Jaffna District Basket Ball team. As there was no separate tournament organised for the under 17 team, they played against the under 19 teams and both our teams clashed in the final. In the Indoor games competitions organised by the- Department of Education, Jaffna A.Dinesh Ebenezer became Champion in both Badminton and Table tennis (Singles) and partnered by T.Gowripahan won the Doubles too in both.

Looking around at the College a panoramic view entertains the visitor. The reconstructed and renovated buildings, in addition' to the new one that is being put up add glamour. The college has been maintaining high standards in studies and games. But at the same time, much more is to be done. The first and foremost is the revival of the hostel. It needs the assistance of Old Boys. parents and well wishers in funding. The Primary School is in dire need of a set of classrooms and a playing field to the young children. The expansion of the College play ground to accommodate a 400 meter track is an urgent need. We trust that the good Lord who has guided the college in the past will stand by us to fulfill them.

A cursory glance into the past history of the college reveals many 'Golden Ages', the golden age of Rev. Thompson. Rev. Peto, Rev. Arulanantham. Mr.A.W.Rajasekaram (golden age in sports), Mr. Anandarajan and future generation of students will rightly claim Mr.Thanapalan's period as a golden age. It all sums up to say that St.John's has always been in golden ages due to the dedication, courage and vision of the Principals. teachers, old boys parents and well wishers.

We are at the threshold of a new millennium. The whole world is making. preparations to welcome it. Have we geared our students to fit into the New World that is to dawn'? The answer is not encouraging and the schools, are not to be blamed. St.John's, as a school has to try to make the best of both worlds, the past and the future. with the stress on the present, keeping what is wise from the past, looking forward towards the future.

What we need is vision and not dreams.