The "Madhya Maha Vidyalaya'(Central College)''" concept (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Central College) is a type of

state school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Originally mooted in the 1930s by

C.W.W. Kannangara Dr. Cristopher William Wijekoon Kannangara ( Sinhala ආචාර්ය ක්‍රිස්ටෝෆර් විලියම් විජේකෝන් කන්නන්ගර; 18 October 1894 – 23 September 1969) was a Sri Lankan Lawye ...

, 54 Central Colleges were founded between 1943 and 1947 as part of his initiative to establish

free education Free education is education funded through government spending or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Many models of free higher education have been proposed. Primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is fr ...

. The first of these was C. W. W. Kannangara Central College in

Matugama Mathugama ( si, මතුගම, ta, மத்துகம) is a semi urban town surrounded by mountains. It is an electorate of the Kalutara district, in Western Province, Sri Lanka. The town is located to the south of Colombo. Mathugama is ...

, followed by others in areas such as

Horana Horana ( si, හොරණ, , ta, ஹொரணை) is a town in Kalutara District, in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is on the A8 highway between Panadura and Ratnapura, away from Ratnapura and away from Panadura. Horana is connected wi ...

Weeraketiya Weeraketiya is a small town in Hambantota District, Southern Province in southern Sri Lanka, about by road north of Tangalle. It is known for being the birthplace of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The town belongs to Weeraketiya Divisional Secretariat. Hi ...

Kekirawa Kekirawa Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Anuradhapura District, of North Central Province, Sri Lanka. History Prehisoric period Kekirawa has a long history which goes back to the pre-historical era. The ruins of tha ...

Kattankudy Kattankudy ( ta, காத்தான்குடி, si, කාත්තාන්කුඩි; also transliterated as "Kathankudy") is a township near the city of Batticaloa on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. The town is predominantly popula ...

Mawathagama Mawathagama is a town in the Kurunegala District Kurunegala is a district in North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Consists of and consists 30 Divisional Secretariats, 1610 Grama Niladari Divisions and 4476 total Villages. It consists of 14 Elec ...

, Veyangoda,

Piliyandala Piliyandala ( si, පිළියන්දල, ta, பிலியந்தலை) is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is situated approximately south of Colombo. Piliyandala clock tower According to local residents and documentation, Pi ...

and

Dickwella Dikwella, also known as Dickwella and as Dikwella South, is a small coastal market town in the Matara district in Southern province of Sri Lanka. It is located east of the city of Matara. Dikwella is noted for its long sandy beach which is pr ...

. With more central colleges established since the original drive in the 1940s, most such schools are now funded and administered by the local provincial council, while a few, by virtue of their status as ''National Schools'', come under the direct purview of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

.Central colleges to be upgraded
/ref> In 2008, the 54 schools founded by Kannangara changed their names from "''Madhya Maha Vidyalaya''" to "''Madhya Vidyalaya''" in a bid to establish a separate identity from other ''Madhya Maha Vidyalaya''s established later on.

References

External links

Dehiwala Central College, Sri-Lanka (Dehiwala Madhya Vidyalaya)Henegama Central College (Henegama Madhya Maha Vidyalaya)Taxila Central College, Horana, Sri-Lanka (Taxila Madhya Vidyalaya)
{{coord missing, Sri Lanka Education in Sri Lanka

See also

References

External links