Joseph Marsh (1803 - 2 February 1838) was a Scottish Anglican priest and educationist. He was the founding headmaster of the Colombo Academy. [1]
Marsh was born in Bonsall, Derbyshire. He gained a MA degree from the University of Edinburgh.
He arrived in Ceylon in 1831 on assignment as the mathematics and classics tutor for the Church Missionary Society from the Diocese of Chennai. [2] [3] Marsh became the acting colonial chaplain at St Paul's Church and joined the tutorial staff of the Cotta Institution which was run by the Church Missionary Society. [4] In 1836, he started a school with 20 students, mainly from the upper class community situated at Hill Street, Pettah, in the back veranda of the church which was called the Hill Street Academy . On request of the parents and based on recommendation from the Colebrooke Commission established the Colombo Academy [5] with the students of the Hill Street Academy and Marsh continuing to serve as headmaster. The Colombo Academy became the first public school in Ceylon.
Marsh also served as the secretary of the Schools Commission and also as secretary of the Friend in Need Society Colombo.
With his health failing in 1838 he left Ceylon and died at sea off the British Cape Colony on 2 February 1838.
Education in Sri Lanka has a long history that dates back two millennia. While the Constitution of Sri Lanka does not provide free education as a fundamental right, the constitution mentions that 'the complete eradication of illiteracy and the assurance to all persons of the right to universal and equal access to education at all levels" in its section on directive principles of state policy at (27. Sri Lanka's population had an adult literacy rate of 96.3% in 2015, which is above average by world and regional standards. Computer literacy in 2017 28.3% and phone users in 2017 105%, website users 32% in 2017. Education plays a major part in the life and culture of the country, which dates back to 543 BC. Sri Lanka's modern educational system modeled after Christian missionary system was brought about by its integration into the British Empire in the 19th century. Education currently falls under the control of both the Central Government and the Provincial Councils, with some responsibilities lying with the Central Government and the Provincial Council having autonomy for others. Education institutions with a tradition dating back to 5 BC are largely ignored by the state.
Patrick de Silva Kularatne was a Sri Lankan educationist and politician. He was a Member of the State Council of Ceylon (1942-1947) and Member of Parliament (1960-1965). He served as Principal of Ananda College and Dharmaraja College and established Nalanda College Colombo, Ananda Balika Vidyalaya, Moratuwa Vidyalaya and Dharmapala Vidyalaya. As a member of the executive committee on Education, he played an instrumental role in the realisation of free education from kindergarten to university.
S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, is a fee-levying Anglican selective entry boys' private school in Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by James Chapman, the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo, in 1851, it was founded as a college and cathedral for the new Diocese of Colombo of the Church of Ceylon, modelled on British Public school tradition. An old boy of Eton College, Bishop Chapman founded the college on the Etonian model, the school's motto of Esto perpetua being derived from that of Eton College.
Dr. Cristopher William Wijekoon Kannangara was a Sri Lankan Lawyer and a politician. He rose up the ranks of Sri Lanka's movement for independence in the early part of the 20th century. As a lawyer he defended the detainees that were imprisoned during the Riots of 1915, many of whom were the emerging leaders of the independence movement. In 1931, he became the President of Ceylon National Congress, the forerunner to the United National Party. Later, he became the first Minister of Education in the State Council of Ceylon, and was instrumental in introducing extensive reforms to the country's education system that opened up education to children from all levels of society.
Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. It was introduced to the island in first century. Traditionally, after Thomas the Apostle's visit in Kerala in AD 52, Christianity is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka because of its close geographical and commercial ties.
The Theological College of Lanka (TCL) is a college that was inaugurated in 1963 by the Anglican Church, the Methodist Church and the Baptist Church in Sri Lanka. Later the Presbyterian Church joined the federation, to educate the new clergy (ministers) and laity in the environment and context of Sri Lanka and their own languages, Sinhala and Tamil. Rev. Basil Jackson, a British Methodist Missionary, became the founding Principal of the college in 1963.. It is believed that language is the vehicle of culture and when Christians begin to think, speak, preach, pray and write in their own languages, they soon become familiar with their cultural values and begin to appreciate them in the practice of their Christian faith. This new step was foreseen by all the churches as an attempt to produce indigenous theology by people who are being educated in Sri Lanka.
S. Thomas' Preparatory School is a private, Anglican, multi-ethnic, primary and secondary day school for boys aged 5 to 16 years, located in Kollupitiya in the Colombo District of the Western Province of Sri Lanka.
Aboobucker Mohamed Abdul Azeez was a Ceylonese civil servant, educator, social worker and member of the Senate of Ceylon.
The American Ceylon Mission (ACM) to Jaffna, Sri Lanka started with the arrival in 1813 of missionaries sponsored by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). Although they had originally planned to work in Galle, the British colonial office in Ceylon restricted the Americans to out-of-the-way Jaffna due to the security concerns of the British who were warring with France at the time. The critical period of the impact of the missionaries was from the 1820s to early 20th century. During this time, they engaged in original translations from English to Tamil, printing, and publishing, establishing primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions and providing health care for residents of the Jaffna Peninsula. These activities resulted in many social changes amongst Sri Lankan Tamils that survive even today. They also led to the attainment of a lopsided literacy level among residents in the relatively small peninsula that is cited by scholars as one of the primary factors contributing to the recently ended civil war. Many notable educational and health institutions within the Jaffna Peninsula owe their origins to the missionary activists from America. Missionaries also courted controversy by publishing negative information about local religious practices and rituals.
Tellippalai or Thellippalai also known as Tillypalli (தில்லைப்பள்ளி) is a small town in the northern Jaffna District of Sri Lanka. It is located about 15 kilometers north of Jaffna town along the Kankesanthurai road
The Church of Ceylon is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extra-provincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointment of the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo, James Chapman and until 1950 it consisted of a single diocese; in that year a second diocese was established at Kurunegala.
St. Paul's Church is situated in the Milagiriya district of Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest churches in Sri Lanka as now part of the Anglican Church of Ceylon.
Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in January 1836, as part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Colebrooke Cameron Commission (1833), and was the first government-run secondary school for boys in the island.
The Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya is the council of Baptist churches and missions in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1812 by Rev James Charter.
The Methodist Church of Sri Lanka is a Protestant Christian denomination in Sri Lanka. Its headquarters is in Colombo and was established on 29 June 1814. It is a member of the World Council of Churches, the Christian Conference of Asia, the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka and the World Methodist Council.
Trinity College, Kandy, is an independent private school for boys in Kandy Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1872 by British Anglican missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, modelled on British Public school tradition. Trinity offers primary and secondary education, and is a leading private school in Sri Lanka managed by the Anglican Church of Ceylon.
Louis Edmund Blaze, JP, OBE, BA (Calcutta), was a Sri Lankan educationist and the founder and principal of Kingswood College, Kandy (1891–1923).
The Hamilton Canal is a 14.5 km (9.0 mi) canal connecting Puttalam to Colombo, passing through Negombo in Sri Lanka. The canal was constructed by the British in 1802 and completed in 1804. It was designed to drain salt water out of the Muthurajawela wetlands. The canal was named after Gavin Hamilton, the Government Agent of Revenue and Commerce.
Laetitia Anna Layard Dowbiggin was a British Christian missionary and teacher in Ceylon.
Dr Barcroft Boake was an Irish born clergyman and educator, who was the longest serving principal of Royal College Colombo, from 1842 to 1870.