c.w.w. kannangara essay for grade 6

C.W.W.Kannangara, the Father of Sri Lankan Free Education!

The proud history that this splendid island of Sri Lanka holds, however, paved its way ahead with so many ups and downs. As per history, the colonial influences , independence movements, and socio-economical instabilities impacted this country’s long journey from time to time. Owing to these reasons the political leadership of this country was always a significant highlight. Besides, when looking back at the political history of this great nation, there are few eminent personalities that we can never forget. Yes, C.W.W.Kannangara, is simply one such great leader that created a new era for the betterment of this country. Hence, we focused this read on this true Sri Lankan politician. Continue reading, and you will get to know many things that you did not know about the history of this wonderful island!

Who is C.W.W.Kannangara?

Dr. Christopher William Wijekoon Kannangara, famous as C.W.W.Kannangara, was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. Besides, he is well-known as the island nation’s post-independence founder, and the person behind the establishment of Sri Lanka’s free education system . Further, he greatly contributed to the cause of independence as a lawyer and orator.

Apart from that, he also served as the president of the Ceylon National Congress. Later, as the first Minister of Education in Ceylon’s State Council, he was influential in implementing substantial reforms to the country’s education system . By making education free for all children in rural areas of the country, he benefited thousands of poor students. In fact, he indeed opened up education to children from all social classes.

He also started the Central Colleges program, which developed high-quality secondary schools in the country’s rural districts. Likewise, his contribution in the field of education covered a wide scope. This made him popular as the “Father of Free Education” in Sri Lanka.

Early Life and Education of C.W.W.Kannangara

Christopher William Wijekoon Kannangara was born on October 13, 1884, in a beautiful village in Southern Sri Lanka. His mother died when he was a child, leaving him with four siblings. His father remarried, and his second wife gave birth to four more children. Later, he lost his work, and the family faced financial difficulties. 

Young Kannangara attended the free Wesleyan Missionary School. However, the prize distribution ceremony at this school changed the life of this young boy. In fact, Kannangara received the majority of the prizes on this day. Accordingly, this young boy was able to impress Rev. J.H Darrel, Principal of Richmond College, Galle, who was the chief guest at this occasion. Accordingly, Darrel gave Kannangara the opportunity to take a scholarship exam through the Richmond College Foundation. He received the scholarship after excelling in Mathematics on the exam. Moreover, he also got a grant for freeboard and accommodation at this school as well. Owing to these opportunities, he was able to complete his education at an elite school of the day.

C.W.W.Kannangara was a standout student at Richmond. In fact, he topped the Ceylon and British Empire list in Mathematics at the Cambridge Senior Examination in 1903. Besides, he also captained Richmond College’s first eleven cricket team in the same year. Further, he was a member of the school soccer squad, for which he won colors. His debating skills and acting abilities also made him shine brighter.

Early Career of C.W.W.Kannangara and Entry to Politics

He joined Richmond College’s teaching staff as a mathematics instructor after completing his education. Afterward, he went on to teach mathematics at Prince of Wales’ College, Moratuwa, and Wesley College, Colombo. He studied law while teaching and passed the Proctor’s Intermediate and Final examinations in July 1908 and 1910, respectively, qualifying as a Proctor in 1910. That year, he graduated from Wesley College and moved to Galle, where he began his civil law business.

Kannangara became a member of Anagarika Dharmapala’s historic temperance movement and collaborated with its leaders. For the first time in 1911, elections took place to elect an Educated Ceylonese to the Legislative Council of Ceylon. Ponnambalam Ramanathan and Marcus Fernando were the two main contenders. However, C.W.W.Kannangara was a strong supporter of Ramanathan. Further, he became the Honorary Secretary of the Ramanathan Support Committee in the Southern Province.

Ramanathan defeated Fernando in the Legislative Council election. Kannangara supported Ramanathan against J.S. Jayawardena in the 1917 elections. Kannangara had founded the Galle National Association, the city’s first political organization, that year. He thereafter became a member of the Ceylon National Congress.

Important Milestones of C.W.W.Kannangara’s Political Career

Dr.Kannangara passed several milestones in his political career while witnessing the changes he did and their result. The following sections will enlighten you more about them.

Legislative Council

O. C. Tillekeratne, a member of the Southern Province Legislative Council, died owing to a train accident at the Wellawatte station on April 13, 1923. C.W.W.Kannangara stood for the vacant Legislative Council seat in a by-election on May 23, 1923, and won by a margin of 1854 votes over David de Silva, who received 115 votes to Kannangara’s 1969. In the 1924 elections, he was re-elected. That was by beating Francis de Zoysa with 4,177 votes to Zoysa’s 2310.

State Council

Kannangara became a member of Anagarika Dharmapala’s historically significant Temperance movement. Accordingly, he got a chance to work closely with leaders such as Sir D.B. Jayatilleke, D.S. Senanayake, F.R. Senanayake, and Arthur V. Dias. Besides, during the time of martial law that followed the riots of 1915, he rose to national fame as a lawyer defending leaders of the Sri Lankan independence movement.

This led him into national politics. Further, he got into the National Legislative Council in 1923, winning a by-election for a seat in the Galle District left vacant by the death of O.C. Tillakaratne. He won it by 1969 votes to 115 votes on April 13, 1923. The next year, he was re-elected with 4,177 votes, compared to 2310 for his nearest opponent. The State Council replaced the Legislative Council as the national legislature in 1931, after the Donoughmore Commission’s recommendations. In 1931 and 1936, C.W.W.Kannangara was re-elected to the State Council. In 1931, he was able to become the president of the Ceylon National Congress.

For the first time, the State Council was made up of Executive Committees and Ministers and was elected by universal suffrage. Kannangara was also the first chairman of the State Council’s Executive Committee of Education in 1931. Accordingly, he was also able to become Sri Lanka’s first Minister of Education as well. H.W. Amarasuriya, W.T.B. Karaliyadda, A. Ratnayake, G.R. De Zoysa, P.E. Madawela, and Dr. S.A. Wickramasinghe made up the Executive Committee of Education, which included C.W.W.Kannangara. He is also remarkable for being the first minister in the State Council to wear the national costume.

Education Reforms and Introduction of Free Education

The Education Ordinance of 1939, passed by the State Council, gave the Executive Committee of Education the authority to create new laws, paving the way for a new educational system in Sri Lanka .  The new system was supposed to ensure that all children in the country, regardless of social class, economic status, religion, or ethnic origin, had equal access to education.

In 1942, a special committee was appointed to report on the state of education in the country. C.W.W.Kannangara was the chairman of this committee. Accordingly, the report, which was issued in 1943, made several recommendations for giving “lasting value to the nation”.

Recommended Education Reforms

Some of these highlighting education reforms he recommended are as follows.

• From kindergarten through university, education should be free.
• In primary schools, the mother tongue should be the medium of instruction.
• From Grade 3 onwards, teaching English should happen in all schools.
• A curriculum for children that develops their “brain, heart, and hands” should be implemented. In other words, for a child’s well-being, emotional education is just as important as intellectual and practical ability education.

However, Kannagara was charged with putting the recommendations into action. Among the other reforms he enacted were ensuring that every student received instruction in the religion of his or her parents, preventing teachers from being exploited by school administrators by having their wages paid directly by the government, and providing adequate provisions for adult education

He also constructed a network of central schools (“Madhya Maha Vidyalaya”) outside of major cities. These brought high-quality secondary education to the villages outside Colombo as well. His goal was to establish a central school in every electorate in the country. As a result, while there were only three central schools in 1941, there were 50 by 1950. Kannangara also established an annual scholarship program in 1943, which provided free board and accommodation in Central School hostels to the top 20 scorers on the scholarship exam.

During his 16 years as Minister of Education, he improved historic pirivenas, Buddhist monks’ educational institutions, and built the University of Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s first university. C.W.W.Kannangara also worked to dismantle the two-tier education system. He was against it as it made affluent kids learn English while the rural masses learn the vernacular tongue. While he advocated for the teaching of “Swabasha” (native languages) in schools, he also recommended that kids acquire English in order to compete in today’s world.

C.W.W.Kannangara, on the other hand, encountered strong opposition to his plan to provide free education in the country, particularly from socially and economically affluent people who had benefited from the British’s significant advantages. This includes a number of C.W.W Kannangara’s political college graduates, including D.S. Senanayake , Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister. In fact, Senanayake was against his proposal to eliminate school fees in “denominational schools.” And the interesting fact is that this bill was brought up for a vote in the State Council when Senanayake was away. Kannangara talked for six and a half hours to persuade other council members to vote for the bill. Dudley Senanayake, A. Ratnayake, J. R. Jayewardene, Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, and Dr. N. M. Perera were assisting him.

Political Career of C.W.W.Kannangara After Independence

His achievements in the State Council in the subject of education, however, did not translate into popularity among his constituency. Hence, he was defeated in the 1947 General Elections. In fact, Wilmot A. Perera, the founder of the popular local school Sri Palee College, defeated him in the Matugama electorate election. C.W.W.Kannangara then got the opportunity to assume duties as the Consul General of Ceylon in Indonesia. He held this position from 1950 until 1952. 

Then, after defeating S.A. Silva in the 1952 general elections, he returned to politics. He entered the Parliament of Ceylon from the Agalawatta electorate. In Dudley Senanayake’s new cabinet, he became the Minister of Housing and Local Government and served as the Chief Government Whip. He refused the position of the Cabinet Minister of Education. That is because certain key members of the administration did not want to give him the chance to push through more education changes.

The Role of C.W.W.Kannangara in Spreading Buddhism

In the initial post-independence period , he was a passionate advocate of the cause of spreading Buddhism in the West, which was receiving increasing public support in Sri Lanka. 

Hon. C.W.W.Kannangara went on to say that the Lanka Dhammaduta Society would help one of the largest Buddhist projects started after India’s Great Emperor Asoka. As a result, he urged all Buddhists to support the society in any way possible in order to assist it in firmly establishing the Buddhasasana in Germany.

He attended multiple public meetings of this society, including the introduction of the One Million Rupee Fund, to emphasize his unwavering support for Buddhist missionary activity in the West (Dasa Laksha Aramudala). On September 6, 1954, it was held at the Colombo Town Hall, presided over by Hon. Dudley Senanayake. Then, on August 7, 1956, Hon. S.W.R.D Bandaranaike, who was the Prime Minister of Ceylon during that era, opened the new headquarters of the German Dharmaduta Society located at Colombo 07. 

Also, as the Minister of Local Government, Hon. C.W.W. Kannangara participated in the opening ceremony of the Sixth Buddhist Council in Rangoon, Burma . 

Death and Legacy of C.W.W.Kannangara

In 1956, C.W.W. Kannangara stepped down from active politics. Vidyodaya University conferred a D’Litt on him in 1961. In great opposition to some of today’s politicians, when Dr. Kannangara resigned, he had no fortune, no home or property, no money in the bank. Thus, his survival was such a concern. Accordingly, he appealed to the then Speaker of Parliament for financial assistance. The response was swift. He got a one-time grant of ten thousand rupees and a monthly allowance of five hundred rupees till his death.

On September 23, 1969, he died in the Colombo General Hospital. The cremation took place according to traditional Buddhist procedures at the Anderson Golf Links, which eventually became the location of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) at Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07.

However, in Sri Lanka, there are a number of institutions that take his name. The authorities built a statue of C.W.W.Kannangara at the Parakramabahu Central College in Polgahawela. Besides, the erudite Buddhist Scholar Dr. Ananda Guruge wrote a book based on the biography of C.W.W Kannangara.

The Bottom Line

It is no secret that the contributions of C.W.W. Kannangara played a vital role in making Sri Lanka the most literate country in South Asia today. Thus, the people of Sri Lanka owe a great debt of gratitude for providing them with free education and thereby laying the groundwork for changing this country’s social, political, and economic history. Therefore, C.W.W. Kannangara should certainly be honored and remembered by all Sri Lankans with much gratitude for the immense service he rendered in creating a better Sri Lanka! 

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FORGOTTEN HEROES BEHIND THE TRUE STORY OF FREE EDUCATION AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES IN SRI LANKA

21 July 2020 12:05 am - 0     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Within two years after the Free Education Ordinance, 44 central colleges were established throughout the country mainly in the rural areas with well equipped buildings,laboratories and hostels

It may be noted here that from the beginning of the British colonial rule, the education in the Sinhalese and Tamil medium schools were entirely free from the kindergarten to the Senior School Certificate level ( equivalent to GCE ordinary level). But the English medium schools which constitute about 10 -15 percent of the schools in the Island charged fees

It may be noted here that from the beginning of the British colonial rule, the education in the Sinhalese and Tamil medium schools were entirely free from the kindergarten to the Senior School Certificate level ( equivalent to GCE ordinary level). But the English medium schools which constitute about 10 -15 percent of the schools in the Island charged fees. The highest positions ,reached by children who received education in the Sinhalese and Tamil medium were the positions of teachers of those schools and notaries public [authorised attest deeds written in Sinhalese and Tamil. Village headmen and Ayurvedic physicians. The clerical service ,civil service, mercantile sector employment university education, and other forms of tertiary education were open only to the children who attended the fee levying English medium schools.   

The Committee on Special Education headed by Kannangara by a majority recommended that the medium of instruction in all schools should be the mother tongue of the child in the primary classes. Kannangara who had the unique privilege of receiving the primary, secondary and tertiary education was one of the most persuasive advocates of Swabasha education. Sir Ivor Jennings who served as a member of the Committee, records in his autobiography that the politicians views prevailed on this policy rather than the educationists’ opinions on this issue. When Kannangara proposed that a child should receive education in his or her mother tongue ,there was a debate in the Special Committee on what ought to be considered the mother tongue of a child. There were some Sinhalese and Tamil children whose mother tongue was English as that language was spoken in their homes. According to Sir Ivor,the politicians including Kannangara proposed a legal formula called ‘racial or ethnic mother tongue’. According to this formula ,if the language of the forefathers of the ethnic group of the child’s father is Sinhalese ,it should be irrefutably presumed that the Sinhalese language was the child’s mother tongue which should be his or her medium of instruction for his or her primary education even if the child’s mother tongue was in fact English at home . This legal formula was proposed in respect of Tamil children too.When it came to Muslims, Burghers and the Malays,the Special Committee on Education could not recommend applying this principle for the children of these ethnic groups. If the legal formula of racial mother tongue was applied to these ethnic groups,the racial mother tongues of the Muslim,Burgher and Malay children would respectively be Arabic,Portuguese /Dutch ,and Malay. In order to overcome this difficulty,Muslims, Burghers and Malays were permitted to receive education in the English medium. Kannangara Committees’ recommendations were adopted by the State after the Independence. The Sinhalese and Tamil children in the English medium schools were required to study respectively in the Sinhalese and Tamil medium. The English medium schools were allowed to teach only the Muslim,Burgher and Malay children in the English medium. C.W.W. Kannangara was in fact the father of Swabahsha Education though S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike who was responsible for the enactment of Sinhala Only Act of 1956 is often wrongly blamed for the Swabasha education.   

  Another interesting question that arises is: “How did the then government of the British colony of Ceylon have such an enormous amount of funds to build 42 central colleges ?”. The answer to this question speaks volumes of the well managed economy Sri Lanka had under the British rule. Although many writers and people portray the British rule in Sri Lanka as only an economic exploitation of the resources of our country,they ignore the vast economic ,social and educational developments that took place during the British rule facilitating the transition from feudalism to capitalism, towards a parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka during the British rule. The contemporary progressive political trends in Britain with her social movements like utilitarianism , social ,democratic and labour movements,too influenced the colonial rule here. The classic example was the grant of universal adult franchise to Sri Lanka upon a recommendation of the Donoughmore Commission. The British Government appointed a Royal Commission headed by Lord Donoughmore to inquire into further reforms to the constitution to meet Sri Lankan aspirations. A.E. Goonesinha, Sri Lanka’s pioneer labour leader, appeared before the Commission and demanded the grant of universal adult franchise. The delegation of the Ceylon National Congress vehemently opposed Goonasinha’s progressive proposal and demanded that the qualifications of education and wealth should remain and preferred limited franchise to the elite.This shows that Goonesinha who was influenced by the contemporary policies of the British Labour Party was progressive whilst the Ceylon National Congress led by the elite semi feudal Sri Lankans were reactionary. But the Donoughmore Commission which comprised progressive British politicians ,strongly recommended that the universal adult franchise should be granted to Ceylon enable the ordinary people in the rural areas to elect their own representatives to agitate for better facilities educational health and development . It may be argued that the far sighted vision of the Donoughmore Commissioners too remotely contributed to the Free Education policy of Sri Lanka. Now coming back to the question “How did the then government of the British colonial rule have an enormous amount of funds to build 44 well equipped central colleges and a university at Peradeniya? Ceylon did not borrow enormous foreign loans but built them with the enormous wealth Ceylon had due to the well managed economy of colonial Ceylon under the British rule. Colonial rule was an extension of the British capitalism to the colonies including Ceylon. V.I.Lenin in his book entitled “Colonialism: The Advanced Stage of Capitalism” presented a similar argument. Today,we beg for foreign investment in business ventures. This is not a new phenomenon. During the British colonial rule, the British companies invested in the plantations and other sectors in Sri Lanka. In the process, these capitalists paid taxes to the British colonial government in Ceylon on the profits they earned. Later parallel to the British and European capitalist class,an indigenous native class of entrepreneurs’ class emerged. The British colonial government managed the economy without borrowing from outside with the revenue it earned from the taxes.   

 It was A.Ratnayake who conceived the idea of free education from the kindergarten to the University and moved in the State Council that a Special Committee on Education should be appointed to look into this issue of having a uniform system of free education from the kindergarten to the university

 At the public sittings of the Special Committee on Education,an eminent educationist had told the Special Committee on Education that free education should be given only for primary and secondary education but not for the university or tertiary education,as it would be an unbearable burden to the country. His suggestion was that the students who could not afford to pay the fees for university education should be granted loans to be recovered when they get employment after graduation,whilst the exceptionally brilliant students with such hardships should be given scholarships.Then ,a member of the Committee who was a Ceylonese politician had reportedly told this educationist, “ Mr. ...., We (Ceylon) have enormous foreign reserves and assets, ..... we can well afford it”. Immediately after the end of Second World War II. Ceylon granted an enormous loan to Britain for the reconstruction work. Such was the strength of the economy we inherited from the British, in spite of the stories of the economic exploitation, we should concede the fact that we inherited from the British an economy with assets not liabilities. And it was an economy second only to Japan in Asia.   

In almost every article I have read,whilst paying tributes to Mr. C.W.W. Kannangara for his salutary role in the introduction and implementation of the Free Education policy,it has been repeatedly highlighted that Kananngara was defeated at the General Election of 1947 implying that the majority of the people of his electorate of Matugama had been ungrateful to him for his commendable role in the introduction and the implementation of the Free Education policy. Only a three years before his electoral defeat , one of the 44 well equipped central colleges had been established in his electorate of Matugama. People who make this suggestion of Matugama people’s “ingratitude”, ignore the stature of the candidate who defeated Kannangara at the General Election of 1947 . It was none other than Wilmot A.Perera, a social worker , and philanthropist who had by that time spent his personal wealth to build Sripali College at Horana and a number of other schools and educational institutions in the district of Kalutara. Obviously people of Matugama who had been touched by the generous and philanthropic contributions of Wilmot A.Perera might have preferred Wilmot A.Perera to C.W.W. Kannangara,whose implementation of free education policy was still in its infancy and the people had not yet reaped its fruits. I believe that it is unfair to suggest that a majority of voters of Matugama were ungrateful ,and apparently they seem to have felt that they should be more grateful to Wilmot A.Perera who spent his enormous personal wealth for building schools in the district of Kalutara and for social work.    

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C.W.W. Kannangara

By birendre jayathilake from sri lanka.

On the 13th of October 1884 marks the birth of the instrumental human being who implemented the free education system of Sri Lanka. Christopher William Wijekoon Kannangara was born to an average family where his father lost his job when he was 12. Young Kannangara, who was courageous, underwent his early education at Weslyan High School at Ambalangoda & worked hard to gain a scholarship to enter Richmond College, Galle. Richmond College was a school for rich boys; Kannangara, who was poor, accomplished himself with great difficulties to complete his studies. At this time Kannangara's family of six children was struggling to survive.

Although Kannangara was poor, he was an outstanding student in both academics & sports. He never knew that the experiences he gained as a poor child in Richmond College will induce him to battle so gallantly for free education, later in his life.

C. W. W. Kannangara entered the national arena as an activist of the Temperance movement initiated by patriots like F. R. Senanayake, Sir Baron Jayatilleka, Arthur V. Dias and Piyadasa Sirisena. In the 1930`s when P. de S. Kularatne, G. P. Malalasekera and others introduced the national dress he followed them and appeared in the national costume. Since then he never donned the Western costume. At this time the people who donned the national costume were humiliated.

The Bill containing the Free Education scheme was introduced on the 30th of May 1944. University education was restricted to the most privileged strata of the society.The least privileged strata of the society had to be satisfied only with secondary education. This opportune proposal was made by the committee headed by C.W.W. Kannangara.

Since then Education was made free from kindergarten to the University.

Those poverty stricken but clever children earlier had only a bleak future to reap the benefits of higher education. The parents of those least privileged children, who could not even think of giving higher education for their clever children overwhelmed with joy when the Free Education Scheme was introduced.

C. W. W. Kannangara lost his seat at the parliamentary election in 1947. This was the first Parliamentary Elections held after he introduced the Free Education Scheme. But he was a true gentleman who took defeat so humbly & never ever moaned about it. Though he got defeated he didn't stop helping schools. He continued with his giant endeavour with eminent courage.

There are administrative officers, doctors, engineers, accountants, architects, lawyers and judges who hail from amongst the less privileged and humble citizens of the country merely as a result of the Free Education System. C.W.W. Kannangara was very fortunate to see fruitful results just in front of his eyes.

Students of mother Lanka are in debt to this personality who opened up the avenues to education. Solely because of his initiative, children of Sri Lanka still make use of the Free Education.

Page created on 10/18/2010 12:56:02 PM

Last edited 10/18/2010 12:56:02 PM

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Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara

He served as a teacher first and became a lawyer in 1910. He entered politics in 1919 and became Minister of Education.

He introduced free education for all and setup central schools. He served for 16 years as the Minister of Education and there was a remarkable progress in the field of education.

He passed away on September 23, 1969 in Colombo.

He is known as the ‘Father of Free Education in Sri Lanka’.

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Top 10 Interesting Facts about C. W. W. Kannangara   

Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara. Photo By Rangithab - Wikimedia Commons

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Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara. Photo By Rangithab – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Interesting Facts about C. W. W. Kannangara   

1. he grew up in a household that had financial hardships  , 2. he was a bright student  .

Family photograph of the Kannangara family in 1950. Photo By Rangithab – Wikimedia Commons

3. Kannangara Was Multi-talented  

4. he became a teacher after school  , 5. he became a lawyer, 6. he was a father of two  , 7. he was a legislative council member  .

C. W. W. Kannangara Photo By Unknown – Wikimedia Commons

8. Kannangara Was The First Minister of Education  

9. he reformed the education sector  , 10. kannangara held other positions before retiring  .

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Great Personalities-Grade 10

C. w.w. kannangara.

C.W.W. Kannangara Central College Mathugama

“To gift the world great humans who are endowed with virtues and wisdom”

Our Mission

“To reward mother Lanka with noble sons with balanced personality,  dedicated to serve the country, nation and religion”

Updates and News

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• March 31, 2024

Prefect Investiture 2024

• December 21, 2023

සිහින රඟහල 2023

• December 6, 2023

OL Results 2023

Kcc statistics, kcc announcements, special announcements, see more announcements, inter house sports festival 2024.

• February 19, 2024

Grade 1 Admission List – 2024

• February 13, 2024

Inter House Sports Festival 2023 Schedule

• February 20, 2023

Upcoming Events

Kcc achievements, featured achievements, see more achievements, gold medal for sri lanka biology olympiad competitions, third place for codefest 2023 (sliit) all island primary division competition, first place for all island school robotics competition, view gallery, over a century long history, first central college ever to be established in the country c.w.w.kannangara central college was funded by the honored father of free education dr. c. w. w. kannangara. it existed as a vernacular and later as a bilingual school prior to its celebrated status. claiming for over a century of history, it is distinguished as the pioneering educational establishment in numerous victories in pasdun korala..

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