HMDI TO GUIDE GURATALAWA INTO THE DIGITAL ERA

William Rollo Lenden Hayman MA, DPhil (Oxon) MBE; Founder Headmaster of S Thomas' College Gurutalawa, retired in 1963 after an exemplary career in education. He gave up the honourable position of Sub-Warden of Mount Lavinia solely out of his love and passion for Gurutalawa. The longest serving STC Warden, the Rev. Canon R. S. de Saram (1932-1958), continued for 10 years without an assistant, hoping for Dr Hayman’s return to Mt Lavinia as Sub-Warded and become the Warden of STC Mt Lavinia after him. This did not transpire, and Mr Davidson was only appointed Sub-Warden in 1957, shortly before his retirement in December 1958. Mr Davidson became the 11th Warden of STC Mt Lavinia.

Cherished Memories of Gurutalawa back then.

Dr Hayman, Mrs Hayman and Rev Fr Foster continued with the building programme at Gurutalawa. In his last Prize Day speech in 1962 before his retirement in 1963, he expressed his sentiments about Gurutalawa and the building program that needed to continue. A science laboratory, a library, and a school hall were priorities that needed to be considered. The Science laboratory came up in 1970 which Dr Hayman himself declared open, on his 1^st visit to college since his retirement. The Rev Foster Memorial Hall and the Library building followed. 

Rev A J Foster Memorial Hall & The Science Laboratory

However, the school that Dr Hayman expected to run in the lines of the British Outward-bound Boarding style with a limit of 360 boys did not see through as Gurutalawa struggled to keep afloat by the late 70s and early 80s. The need for a primary section made the numbers to run over 1000 and a nose dive was imminent. 

The general maintenance of the school infrastructure was no longer a priority and the overcrowding in the dormitories exhausted the drainage systems, which needed improvement. The required finances were immense and the matter was distracted and any progress made was slow. The picturesque Gurutalawa turned gloomy by the year and it became a herculean task for the OBA to source funds to keep Gurutalawa in good shape. Many attempts to revive existing forms of lending and develop new financial programs failed for a variety of reasons.

My friend Thowfeek in attempting to revive such a programme notes the situation at Gurutalawa thus;

“When Father Marc B was Headmaster of Gurutalawa, I met him at the Bishop’s House in 2015. At this meeting, I told him, we cannot go around every quarter with a begging bowl asking for funds to repair x, y, and z. When we left College, the School was 25 years old, today it is over 75 years old, and as such the school needs a sustainable source of income every month for maintenance. To that end, I suggested we must build up an endowment fund. It was then I learnt about the R L Hayman Foundation. He told me this fund started with an initial contribution from Mrs Hayman as part of her last will. It was around Rs.200,000. This Fund was formally launched by Father Marc in 2009. I jumped at this and told him I would make a nominal initial contribution and let us start a fund-raising effort. Years went by and nothing really happened. Thanks to high interest rates in Sri Lanka, this fund has now grown to Rs.9 million.”         

Gurutalawa is now 82 years old and in December 2023 the boys of the 1962 – 1974 period reunited for a very enjoyable fellowship in Colombo followed by a trip to Gurutalawa. It was most disappointing when the boys visited STC Bandarawela and found how backward Gurutalawa was in infrastructure maintenance and the general upbringing of the students. The loss of Thomian traditions had led to the loss of the ‘Thomian Grit’.

My friend Thowfeek continued his feelings about the reunion; “I met with the Headmaster and the Manager along with Nimal, Wani, Dulip, Rajpal and a few others and presented a financial plan. The objective was simple, to raise sufficient funds in a brief period, say 3 years, when the fund grows to a certain level that will generate interest income that will give the school Rs. One million a month forever and ever, hopefully, grow even more. Our plan included how the fundraising can be arranged. All we asked was transparency and governance be established by amending the article of the Fund.” 

Nine months from that meeting, we’ve not progressed an inch closer to reviving this Trust… But despite these gloomy feelings, Gurutalawa sees signs of hope.

The Iconic Chapel & its interior

Mr Kapila Gunawardane, a former Managing Director at Union Carbide Corporation Sri Lanka, who graduated from Guru in 1956 and now lives in Sydney, Australia, is interested in using his savings to help Gurutalawa build a full-fledged indoor sports stadium. This was based on a discussion in October 2023 when Mr Gunawardane met with Mr Nihal Wanniarachchi, the Headmaster Mr Laksiri Perera and Mr Senaka de Fonseka the Manager of the school with the Board of Governors represented by Mr Hiran Molligoda.

Around the same time, Dr Neil Horadagoda, a Veterinary Pathologist and an academic attached to the University of Sydney, a contemporary of my Gurutalawa days, contacted me again from Sydney, Australia, expressing his passion and affection for the old science laboratory building, inquiring how he could assist with its modernization. In addition, Mr Dulip de Silva, my contemporary and a Senior Chef, also from Sydney, was on holiday and was going to Gurutalawa to see the kitchen and see how it could be modernized.

Gurutalawa was to get a facelift of the kitchen and the laboratory by the end of 2023 with the personal funding of Neil and Dulip with assistance from a few other old boys . Dulip also organized 1568 pieces of cutlery (392 sets of forks, spoons, knives and teaspoons) through the Australian diaspora and later 300 stainless steel plates and mugs from the remaining funds from the reunion, supplemented by the support of other old boys.  It was after this visit that Neil met Kapila in Sydney and a digitalization programme for Gurutalawa was discussed. As a result, the Indoor Stadium Project was split; introducing Digitalized Smart Teaching Facilities for the senior classrooms and upgrading the IT Laboratory to an IT Library facility.

Kapila was in Sri Lanka to discuss the ‘modus operandi and a committee was formed with the Headmaster and the School Manager on the 2^nd of December 2023. The Hayman Memorial Digital Initiative for Gurutalawa (HMDI) is formed. His Manager at Union Carbide Sri Lanka then, Mr Nihal Wanniarachchi is appointed Chairman of the committee and Mano Gnanaraj, the financial controller. Other members were to join when required.  The main objectives of the project were identified; Full renovation of the Senior School classrooms and making them lockable. Upgrading the existing IT Laboratory with a more spacious arrangement absorbing the sports administration area. Obtain a digital cloud facility from a reputed service provider with all the setup facilities linking other STC schools with Gurutalawa etc.

The upgrade of the classrooms commenced with the input of Architect Shammin Jayawickrame, and it was at this stage that I was introduced to the programme to formalize Project Management and Contract Administration. The Civil Construction work kicked off in mid-December and the proposals for the digitization from Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd (SLT) and Dialog-Axiata are awaited. 

Meanwhile, Neil had been negotiating with the headmaster about his interest in cleaning up the laboratory. The age-old biological specimens from the Hayman era were now a health and safety threat. He arranged for them to be safely disposed of, and the long-delayed maintenance of the lab building was begun with his funds and carried out by his nephew, a building contractor. The dedication and commitment of the building contractor find him entrusted with the implementation of the HMDI classroom upgrading component as well.

The scope of work included the provision of aluminium doors and windows, new ceilings as well as a complete replacement of electrical system. Wooden wall guards were installed to prevent damage to the walls by desks and the outer verandah walls were finished with granite stone drywall cladding.

Classrooms before and after rehabilitation

We are midway through our classroom upgrade programme and have received the proposals from the two service providers. Without going into the details looking at the price proposals we see that both offers charge a whopping sum that is over Rs 500,000 per month as cloud rental. Mano was the first to sound the alarm, saying Gurutalawa could not afford such a monthly fee.

There was no turning back now and alternatives had to be looked for. Gurutalawa had produced many professionals in the 50s and 60s era, and my judgement was to get advice from my classmate Anil Gammampila, an eminent personality in the IT world for over four decades to suggest a sustainable solution for the digital journey in Gurutalawa.  His local company, "Itechro" Pvt Ltd., was instructed to go to Gurutalawa to carry out a fact-finding mission and report and propose a solution

A question-and-answer session on the 10^th of January 2024, followed their proposal to have a physical link between the Administration Block, the Senior Classrooms and the Science Laboratory. A central Server in the IT hub area in the Administration Block with sub-servers in the classrooms and the laboratory will manage the total digitization of 12 smartboards and 32 computers.  One of the two available SLT, Wi-Fi connections will be linked to the server with an upgrade on the bandwidth All these buildings will have Wi-Fi connectivity with the servers and the second SLT Wi-Fi connection will be terminated. This way the school will manage the system within a paltry sum of approximately 35 thousand rupees a month. 

Q&A Session-Itechro

Anil's team of experts suggested a fibre optic cable link to the buildings. A Local Area Network (LAN) line from the building servers to several ceiling-mounted Wi-Fi transmitters to link the Smartboards and the computers to the main server. All the equipment for the transmission was shipped in from Australia while the Smartboards, Computers, individual Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) to smartboards, a dedicated UPS for the main server and another for the 30 computers in the IT Library were sourced locally.

The IT Library was to get new individual tables turned out by an old boy from Moratuwa, each of which came with a new swivel chair on casters.

The new IT area was redesigned to the visionary preference of Kapila and Neil. A hands-on hardware assembly unit for student practice, an IT lecture area for interactive learning and discussion, and delivering information to groups. The new IT Library area is positioned on a raised access floor facilitating swift and easy service access for Power and LAN services.

Sourcing a suitable raised floor was not an easy task with the enforced restrictions on the importation of fabricated construction material. However, with my previous contacts, I managed to locate a Contractor/Supplier who had an excess stock of a raised floor imported for a now abandoned project; and I managed to talk over and obtain part of his stock for Gurutalawa. The renovated classroom building and TI library area were completed in seven months.

In the IT Laboratory the new areas were partitioned with Aluminum doors to separate different usages and a new entrance door replaced the old barn-type door into the old sports area.

Project Execution

Three contracts were prepared as per the Government procurement guidelines and CIDA regulations for the Civil construction works in the classroom block and the IT Library. The total package of fibre optic cabling including the relevant civil work and materials was contracted to SLTS Ltd, a subsidiary of Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd. Anil Gammampila himself funded the connectivity construction package including the equipment supplied from Australia. Further, Itechro Ltd will undertake the maintenance of the system for one year after being handed over to the school. The school by then should facilitate an IT specialist to maintain the system and troubleshoot glitches.

 A Digital Vision for Gurutalawa

HMDI will not stop at just facilitating the infrastructure for digital teaching but continue its services in providing the know-how and the technical skills needed for both the teacher and the student.

All the software used in the system is Windows-based and Office 360 full suit and are Licensed Versions. The school is to undertake the annual fee from next year onwards. Initially, 12 packages have been purchased. (10 for teaching through HMDI and 2 by the College for administration purposes). This will provide digital access to 480 students with dedicated email addresses to access the learning process. The number of packages will need to increase to cover all the staff (approx. 35) to gain the full benefit currently it is limited to 12 staff members.

New IT Library /Laboratory on a raised floor

The teachers will be introduced to a Learning Management System (LMS) a robust platform that holds course content, materials and administration in one user-friendly online system. This will allow the teacher easy management of classes and track their student's progress. Highlight areas of strength and weakness for ongoing performance improvement. The LMS will create an environment where students can interact with content, collaborate with other learners and communicate with their teacher outside the classroom. And apps like Google Classroom would make it simple to share these materials.

New Classroom interior with Smart-board & White-board

Neil, a former university teacher, will continue with an initial induction program for all senior class teachers on the LMS with the support of the school IT Teachers. This will be a continuous exercise monitored by him and supported by the school management. 

Therefore, HMDI has created its Vision statement for Gurutalawa as;

"To transform our STCG into a dynamic learning environment that leverages digital technologies to enhance student engagement, foster personalized learning experiences, and equip students with the skills and competencies needed for success in the 21st-century global economy."

This vision statement encapsulates the overarching goals of digitalizing a secondary school by considering the following key components used

Enhanced Learning Experiences: Utilize digital tools and platforms to create interactive and immersive learning experiences that cater to diverse learning styles and preferences. This includes incorporating multimedia content, virtual simulations, and collaborative online projects to make learning more engaging and impactful.

Personalized Education: Implement digital solutions such as learning management systems and adaptive learning platforms to tailor instruction to individual student needs and preferences. By leveraging data analytics and artificial intelligence. Teachers can provide personalized support and guidance to help students reach their full potential.

Digital Literacy and Skills Development: Integrate digital literacy and technology skills development into the curriculum to ensure that students are equipped with the necessary digital competencies for success in the digital age. This includes teaching coding, digital citizenship, information literacy, and critical thinking skills.

Professional Development: Provide ongoing training and support for teachers to effectively integrate technology into their teaching practices and leverage digital tools to enhance learning outcomes. Encourage collaboration and sharing of best practices to foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.

Therefore, HMDI and STC Gurutalawa would work towards a goal for all students from Grade 6 onwards to be equipped with a laptop as the learning device in five years to come. Only then will Gurutalawa become the first school to offer a complete IT learning package in the classroom? However, this could only be achieved if the school administration, managers and the board of governors all have a unified visionary approach in this regard.

HDMI to continue?

Recent efforts to improve facilities and infrastructure in Gurutalawa have had various shortcomings. Most of these programs have been abandoned or not implemented at all. However, to achieve its goals, HDMI adopted a different approach to fund management and project implementation. This is because HDMI had the right to reject or approve schemes outside its scope. The central figure, Mr Kapila Gunawardane, always did this with due diligence and ensured the final decision was taken in coordination with the headmaster and the school administration.

As a result, the relocation of the Hayman Museum into the Old Senior Library area and a new extension to the senior school staffroom with proper ablution facilities were undertaken with the remaining funds. General improvement in the student washrooms is also considered. Anil is to fund and facilitate the connectivity links to the Foster Memorial Hall and the Library building with the central server in the administration block. This is an extension of the scope, peeking the future needs. 

However, since HMDI’s key supporters Kapila, Neil and Anil are from Australia and the efforts of HMDI were well deployed; There is the thought that the Australian-Gurutalawa diaspora may be willing to support Gurutalawa if projects are undertaken along the same lines. For this reason, there is a suggestion to continue the fund as the "Sydney Fund in Support of Gurutalawa". As a result, Gurutalawa may witness many more modernization programs in the future. 

Transferring the HMDI to the school.

The final strength of HMDI is the implementation of the product within the school itself. An elaborate three-day program (2^nd October – 4^th October 2024) has been planned to transfer the product to the school. The event organized by the HMDI and the school management will be attended by the Board of Governors, teachers, parents and the students. The key stakeholders Kapila, Neil and Anil will share their visionary approach to the digital learning program and identify milestones to be achieved through the process.

Documents relating to Financial Disbursement, Contract Management, Equipment Procurement and inventories with serial numbers, guarantees/warranties will be handed to the school management to be included in the school's assets. A total maintenance manual of the digitalization system is provided with checklists and troubleshooting guidelines. The system maintenance in the first year will be complementary to Anil’s generosity undertaken by “Itechro Ltd”.

Conclusion

Gurutalawa is now 82 years old. This timeline spans three important eras; the Hayman era (1942-1963), the Immediate post-Hayman era (1963-1977), and the New School era when the school expanded to have a primary section. Except for Kapila, who is a product of the Hayman era, most of us in HMDI represent the Immediate post-Hayman era. Both Nihal Wanniarachchi and Mano Gnanaraj saw the end of the Hayman era but their interaction was more in the post-Hayman Era.

We from the Hayman and Post-Hayman eras feel very nostalgic because the facilities available in the boarding schools at that time were luxuries that most homes did not have. Electricity and running water were available only in the townships while most of the boys were from affluent rural families. Hence, parents were willing to let their children go as the amenities available were a relief and it would be a new experience for their children. It is with this understanding that we demand to bring back the tradition and the culture that was once incomparable at Gurutalawa.  

However, one needs to understand that we are also the “Last of the Mohicans.” We could only make our presence felt if we got in the act of bringing back that dream school on the ground again. Just voicing our concerns and criticisms will get us nowhere close for we belong to a disappearing progeny. The present-day old boy is no longer from an era related to Dr Hayman. Therefore, our approach to any modernization or other development needs to blend with the new functions of the school.

However, there still can be a similarity or equality of the boarding house which runs in the same lines unique to Gurutalawa. But can Gurutalawa market its boarding school as then to the current middle-class parent? The answer will be a big NO as the amenities in the dormitories are those that were available for us then. But today the average home has tiled floors and attached washrooms comfortable ventilation etc. There had been parents demanding even running hot water in the dormitories. Such is the asking for, at Gurutalawa today.

Therefore, one must realize that demanding a Gurutalawa that we experienced then is no longer a valid demand for two reasons. Gurutalawa needs to be marketed today unlike then. And for this, the upgrading of amenities requires a huge investment. Also, the English-speaking social structure with the adventurous outward-bound culture and the independence that the student inculcated outside school and home when travelling together to and from school by train is no longer an asking.

Gurutalawa has the right to be transformative and marketable in today's competitive field of education. Equally, Gurutalawa is committed to preserving the Thomian traditions that are special to us outside of the academia that most other schools also offer today.

Uditha Wijesena, 

Member HMDI