Leonidas James: The man who made UNESCO take note of a humble school

In October 1979, a special ceremony was held at a building in Polgolla converting it to a "Gnana Mandiraya", commonly called a library. This historic building was where the famous Earl Mountbatten lived when he was Commander of the South East Asia Command with his headquarters in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya.

The conversion was left to a school Principal who had come from India at a time when there was a dearth of science graduates in Sri Lanka. He was interviewed in India by the then Principal of Kingswood, P.H. Nonis. Leonidas James was a graduate from the Tambaram Christian College where he passed out as a Bachelor of Science in biology. His first task was to set up the biology laboratory at Kingswood which resulted in two students entering the University College and qualifying as Medical Practitioners.

He was known as 'Leo' to all, both to the staff and pupils of Kingswood. He was always nattily dressed and wore two suits everyday, one in the morning and one after lunch. His work was methodical and he had many 'friends' among the pupils. He was also a hockey player and filled the gap that was left by the late Paul Raj of Kingswood. He undoubtedly achieved what he was brought from India to do by Principal P.H.Nonis.

There is no doubt that Leonidas James left a lasting mark in the annals of education in Sri Lanka. He was the first non-Sinhalese at that time to teach science in Sinhala. But, he was to do more things later and that was to turn a humble school at Polgolla into one of international repute which foreign educationists would seek out. What was so special about Leo that made Mahaweli Maha Vidyalaya at Vasanakanda into a school that even made UNESCO take notice?

I met Leonidas James who now lives in retirement in Kandy. His first reaction was that he did nothing new but what he did was for the betterment for students from backward areas. He said that this school was the focus of a Scandinavian documentary to mark the International Year of the Child in 1979.

The Mahaweli school was opened in 1973 on the picturesque hillock now 'Vasanakanda' with classes leading to the Advanced Level. Some 650 students, both boys and girls were on the roll and a staff of 35. The school followed the national system of education. Leo's bold experiment worked. When one looks back, perhaps it is the same ideal that Blaze of Kingswood wished to have in his school, not paper qualifications but for the student to fit into society.

Blaze had the same spirit. He brought students and the community together and tutors were friends. Leo used this experiment and turned it into a more meaningful one at Vasanakanda and brought the school and the community together. His concept was noticed by the United Nation agencies such as UNESCO and UNICEF. Their representatives visited the school and found that this was a model for schools in the region.

I asked Leo, what this concept was and he said it was mainly based on Buddhist teachings and the way of life of Mahatma Gandhi.Leo was born a Christian and a Tamil. He is still a follower of Christ, but he instilled in the students the practice of following the teachings of Buddha. He quotes in his speeches the stanzas of Buddha's teachings and what it means to people.

His other concept, was to produce men and women who would in a small way narrow the gap between education and manpower. His was a simple formula- the school was 'home'. The children were addressed as ' sons' and 'daughters'. Lessons were taken in the classroom as well as outside. There was interaction and discussions between teachers and students. The teachers were trained to show the inter-disciplinary approach to knowledge.

The children at Mahaweli could not afford expensive paint brushes and canvas. They turned out their own paint brushes and colours from dyes and pigments from plants. They turned out laboratory equipment from discarded material. That was the Mahaweli school which achieved international fame due to one man that was Leonidas James.

It all began with Leo and his staff conducting a sociological survey of the ' new' school population identifying the needy and those with special problems. This was followed by a medical examination by volunteer medics (there were so many who would come at the calling of Leo). They would give them the advice needed and especially those undernourished children.

There were very poor children, who lacked clothes and books and these were gifted by individuals and institutions, ever ready to help. The students were taught to repay them not to think that they were getting them for charity. The payment was by way of service to the school or community.

I had the privilege of going to this school, when Leo was the Principal. No sooner I met the first student who was coming into the Principal's office, he greeted me with a "Good Morning Sir". I was taken back and for a moment I didn't reply.

Then in 1979 when the United Nations through their Demographic Indicators found that 35 percent of the world’s population in countries in this region were under 15 years, a team from the state-owned Finnish Television Corporation with its Director Ms. Sirppa Sivori Asp came to Sri Lanka. They were guided by the film maker Felix Premawardene and having shot various facets of life in Sri Lanka, they finally came to the Mahaweli School.

Ms. Asp fell in love with it as did her colleagues. She has said in her many reports, "This school has warm hearts, discipline and social consiousness and has brought the community closer to give new dimensions to education, innovation and development." The team selected a 13-year-old G.B. Sisil Dilantha through whose eyes the story of the school was told. What happened to the film, I ask Leo. "It must be in an almirah of the Ministry of Education or maybe nowhere - it is a lost episode now," he replies.