Keheliya’s name removed from school

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama and J.A.L. Jayasinghe

Central Province Governor Prof. S.B.S. Abayakoon yesterday authorized the immediate renaming of 'Keheliya Rambukwella Primary School' in the Kundasale Division of the Wattegama Education Zone, Kandy.

The decision was taken by the Structural Committee of the Provincial Education Department following public requests to remove the names of corrupt politicians from schools in Kandy.

The school will now be known as Kundasale Royal Primary School.

Meanwhile, the Governor also ordered the renaming of schools in the Minipe Education Zone, Teldeniya.

Earlier, the Ceylon Teachers' Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin said that a 1996 circular from the Ministry of Education prohibits naming schools after individuals who are still alive. He added that despite Keheliya Rambukwella's involvement in the controversial immunoglobulin procurement scandal, it was inappropriate to have the school bear his name.