Good teachers earn the enduring respect and affection of their students, colleagues and family.
Gnanie Nalliah – who was born on February 4, 1918 and passed away on March 21, 2009 – was one such a person.
Although born to a family of teachers, her early life was such that she was unable to complete her formal schooling.
Gnanie was born in Thunnalai, a quiet village in Jaffna. Her father was a successful lawyer. She had her early education at the village school, and joined Vembadi Girls’ High School, Jaffna as a boarder. Her father died when she was just seven years old. The family that was once comfortably off was now in straitened circumstances.
Gnanie’s exceptional abilities in mathematics were not evident when she was a young student. One year her end-of-term school report showed such a poor performance in maths that her older brother, now effectively the head of the family, decided to take her in hand. He instructed their mother that Gnanie was not to have breakfast until she had finished her maths assignments.
Gnanie was supervised daily during the school holidays. She worked her way through the Hall and Stevens textbooks. The systematic study bore fruit: not only did she receive high marks in algebra and geometry the next term, she also developed a love for the subject that stayed with her for the rest of her life.
Sadly, Gnanie had to drop out of school in Grade 9, when her mother fell ill and her older sister got married. She was now looking after her mother full time.
For the next 10 years, Gnanie nursed her mother and did all the housework. After her mother passed away, she resumed her studies. She took a correspondence course and passed her Senior Cambridge and Inter-Arts exams.
Gnanie married Devarajah Nalliah in 1948. Financial necessity made her consider taking up teaching. When her husband was chosen for a teacher training programme, the couple faced the prospect of no monthly income. Teacher trainees at the time were not paid a salary. Gnanie got a job as a maths teacher at Chundikuli Girls’ College, Jaffna in 1949. The school principal, Dr. E. M. Thilliampalam, recognised Gnanie’s aptitude for maths and encouraged her to complete her degree.
It was not an easy time for Gnanie, who had to study for her degree exams while holding a teaching job and looking after her young son, who was ill with whooping cough. Often at night, she would study while walking up and down with her son on her shoulders. Her perseverance and hard work paid off and she obtained her BA, London degree.
Gnanie taught at Chundikuli for 26 years. Her students said she had a talent for explaining complex mathematical concepts.
Gnanie had a deep love for her work and a genuine concern for her students. Those who needed extra help would be invited to her home after school for further coaching, free of charge. The students would also be treated to a cup of tea and tiffin.
In the 1970s, family needs compelled her to start giving private tuition classes in her home, in addition to her regular teaching job at school.
Countless numbers of students passed through her capable hands and acquired her love for the subject. Average students would surprise themselves and their parents by obtaining distinctions at the exams.
Gnanie took early retirement. She gave up her teaching job at Chundikuli in 1975 and moved to Colombo. She had a busy schedule, with GCE Ordinary Level students flocking to her home at 5th Lane, Kollupitiya. Neither the students nor their parents were disappointed when the results came out.
In 1986, Gnanie and her husband left Sri Lanka to settle down in Canada. Gnanie assumed her teaching career was over and that she would now be concentrating on being a grandma. But fate decided otherwise.
Gnanie’s husband died in 1988, and she went through a dark period. A family friend whose daughters needed maths help encouraged Gnanie to start teaching again. Word got around and soon dozens of students were coming to her, including Sri Lankan-Canadian children.
Gnanie had the distinction of being an active maths teacher into her 91st year.
With her integrity and talent for maths, Gnanie made a perfect honorary treasurer for various organisations. She would not hesitate to point out any irregularities.
She was much more than just a good maths teacher. Someone remarked that Gnanie had just one son, but was a mother to countless children.
Shanti Arulanantham
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