The Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya Campus (now University of Peradeniya) marks the Golden Jubilee of its establishment in 1998. Yes, it was in 1948 that the Peradeniya Campus of the University of Ceylon had its beginnings of student life with the first intake of 17 Agriculture undergraduates, 16 male and one solitary female student.
The birth of the Faculty of Agriculture and its earliest beginnings must certainly make interesting reading at this time. As was widely conjectured at the time, the birth of Sri Lanka's very first Faculty of Agriculture appears to have had political overtones. That in itself should not surprise anyone, After all from time imemorial there has been no pie into which politicians would not want to have their fingers in.
What was surmised at the time was that with national independence looming large on the horizon, the then Minister of Agriculture in the State Council, D. S. Senanayake, who was also to become Sri Lanka's first Prime Minister in independent Ceylon, mooted the idea of a Faculty of Agriculture while he was yet in charge of the Agricultural portfolio in the State Council.
He himself might well have realised how long overdue such an institution was in a predominantly agrarian economy. And for him to get the University of Ceylon to fall in line with his thinking would have been simple with his friend, philosopher and guide, the redoubtable constitutional lawyer and educationist Sir Ivor Jennings as the Vice Chancellor of the University.
So it was that the Faculty of Agriculture came to be established in 1947. That indeed the Faculty came to be established rather in a hurry is also borne by the fact that the University of Ceylon conducted a Special Entrance Examination for admission to the new Faculty of Agriculture. And, as it so happened only a single candidate qualified to enter the Faculty. As to how many sat for this examination is not known to the writer of this article.
No doubt, the first poser presented to Sir Ivor by his brand new Faculty would have been the prospect of running it for one single student. But the Vice Chancellor was to soon have a way out of this very first problem. Yes, as it so happened, the highest agricultural education up to that time was that obtaining in the School of Agriculture, Peradeniya of the Department of Agriculture - a two year course of studies in the science and practice of agriculture as a profession afforded to post-secondary school students with a London Matriculation/Senior School Certificate.
The writer of this article himself was just completing his studies in this institution at the time the Faculty came to be established. And it didn't take too long for the students of this institution, both past and present to lobby with the Vice Chancellor for enrolment in the new Faculty exempting them from sitting for the University Entrance Examination. And it probably didn't take too much persuasion either for the Vice Chancellor to accede to this proposal and so also getting over his problem of running a Faculty with a single student.
So around 20 School of Agriculture, Peradeniya certificated students also gained admission to this new Faculty. In the initial year of the Faculty, the first year in Agriculture (Botany, Chemistry, Zoology and Economics) was conducted in Colombo. In that very first batch, the first examination in Agriculture proved to be quite a massacre with only three of the School of Agriculture, Pera-deniya alumni making it. In a follow-up examination in the same year a few more found success.
And so to Peradeniya for the balance of the B. Sc. (Agric) programme. At Peradeniya we were to find a few more Pure, Science Graduates also enrolling for the programme - no doubt with the hope of improving their employment prospects. The final head-count of the first batch of Agriculture graduands in Peradeniya read as follows: P. S. B. Adikaram; S. R. Arasasingham; P. W. W. de Silva; I. P. S. Dias; S. A. Dias; A. L. B. Hensman; A. J. Jeevaratnam: S. J. Jesudasan; S. Natesan; K. Pathmanathan; Arundathi Rajanayagam; L. R. Senaratna; R. T. Salgado; Rex J. Senaratna; S. T. Seneviratne; A. Thurairatnam; Y. Yogasunderam, a perfect ethnic mix if one might say so.
In 1948 the Peradeniya campus was not yet ready to receive us. So in that year we were accommodated in a spacious bungalow of the Department of Agriculture - that is the sixteen men. The solitary woman found accommodation in a neighbouring residence of an Agricultural Department official.
The Faculty comprised both permanent staff as well as several visiting lecturers from the Department of Agriculture. The permanent staff comprised both retired scientists from the Department of Agriculture as well as certain contracted expatriate staff. The Faculty composition was:
Mr. Emile J. Livera - Lecturer in Agronomy/Head of Department.
Prof. C. A. McGaughey - Professor of Veterinary Science.
Dr. S. P. Aiyar - Professor of Agricultural Chemistry.
Dr. M. F. Chandraratne - Lecturer in Agricultural Botany.
Dr. B. A. Baptist - Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology.
Dr. J. W. L. Peiris - Lecturer in Plant Pathology.
Dr. L. A. P. Brito-Babapulle - Lecturer in Animal Husbandry.
Dr. I. D. S. Weerawardena - Lecturer in Agricultural Economics.
Mr. G. I. O. M. Fernando - Lecturer in Economics.
As would be evident from the numbers, in that first year the student/staff ratio stood at less than two. And with such a student/staff ratio, the ensuing student/staff relationships could not have been anything but convivial. And those first years of campus life at Peradeniya would no doubt have fulfilled Sir Ivor Jenning's dream of residential University education he had for the country. Staff/student get togethers at lunches/dinners were all too common and the light banter (table talk was the name) was often uproarious. A few such episodes merit recall.
On one occasion referring to the wide latitude of study and research in the U. S. A., the late Dr. I. D. S. Weerawardena made the point of a Ph. D. being awarded in the States for a study on the count of microbes in the under-linen of women. And the wise old Prof. Aiyar looking Dr. Weerawardena in the eye most pithily remarked - "just missed the mark, eh?" On another occasion the same Prof. Aiyar was to confess his forgetting his umbrella and getting drenched in an unexpected shower of rain. And a bright spark among us makes the comment of forgetfulness being a sign of genius.
The Prof. again not to be out-done by a mere ward of his makes the cryptic repartee - "why don't you cultivate it!" These times, no doubt, comprised campus life at its best.
Now, what about student life, student discipline and the general student deportment in those first years at Peradeniya? Well, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that student indiscipline in that sense was quite alien to us. For instance on occasion we sure did consort with Bacchus!! But to be sure it was seldom or never within the precincts of Arunachalam Hall. After all we had a very convenient Summer House in close proximity.
So, we certainly indulged in fun and frolic but responsible behaviour was the watchword.
Looking back now at events 50 years after, we certainly did function as responsible University men and came to be highly accepted by the Peradeniya community at large.
So accepted, in fact, that there was hardly a social event in the community to which all seventeen of us were not invited.
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