One of Jaffna's most respected high school principals,
Mr. Kanapathipillai Pooranampillai passed away at his
London residence on Sunday April 22. He was 92. The
funeral was held on April 28 at St. John's Church,
Folkestone.
Mr. Pooranampillai is survived by his wife Peace; son
Jeyakumar; two daughters Shanthi, and Vasanthi. He was
principal of Hartley College, Point Pedro - 1943 - 1967
and St. Johns College, Jaffna -1967 - 1976.
An obituary for Pooranampillai, written by Mr. K. T.
Rajasingham was published on Hartley College's
website.'A towering, genteel fatherly figure is no more
with us. Let his soul Rest in Peace,' it said. 'He
had a gifted memory, would identify anyone, name them,
would address them, and would ask about the concerned
person's father, mother and brothers - almost all of
them would have been his past students.'
Mr. Pooranampillai served as the President of All
Ceylon Principles' Union and the President of Cricket
Association in Jaffna. He was also the vice-president
of Ceylon Methodist Churches, while he was in Sri
Lanka.
Hartley had loyal staff, all of whom were hardworking.
Mr. Pooranampillai's idea was that at least 50% should
be past pupils and at least 25% should be from other
schools, so that the school benefited by new traditions
and practices.
Hartley College's website referes to Mr.
Pooranampillai's period as the beginning
of the 'golden era' in the school's history. 'It is
the systematic approach adopted by Mr. K.
Poornampillai which led Hartley College to demonstrate
it's outstanding performances in the academic field,'
it says. 'He had made the College a place for the
acquisition of skills necessary for life.'
After his retirement as Principal of Hartley College,
his tenure at which was marked by re-organization and
consolidation, he joined St. Johns College in Jaffna.
He reportedly had some initial teething problems at St.
Johns, to come to terms with those students, but
subsequently, he emerged as the reputed person in the
city.
'Mr. Pooranapillai, a beacon of light, was a strict
disciplinarian and instills sense of duty, discipline
and order, in the minds and hearts of his students,'
Mr. Rajasingham wrote. 'Later I learnt that he left
for England due to the unsettled political situation in
Sri Lanka.' 'Along with thousands of his students and
his well wishers, all of us miss him. A great soul who
did yeomen service to humanity is no more with us. We
all miss him, but we would continue to cherish those
fond memories of our able guide and philosopher
forever. R.I.P.'
Courtesy: Tamil Guardian - May 02, 2001
