The Principal’s Report - 2026 

The Chairperson, Mrs. Christina Sutharshini Ekanayeke,

Our Chief guest, Dr. Mehala Balamurali,

Our Chaplain, the Rev. S. Stephen Jebachelvan,

Members of the Governing body,

Members of the Advisory Committee,

Respected members of the clergy,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies & Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the annual Prize giving of our college.

It is a great honour to have as our chief guest, Dr. Mehala Balamurali, a Senior Research Fellow, at the department of Engineering, University of Sydney. We thank you most sincerely for finding the time to be with us amidst your duties as a Scientist, wife, and mother.

Dr. Mehala Balamurali is one of our distinguished old girls. Madam, during your college career, you engaged yourself in a wide range of school activities. You were also a member of the prefects’ guild of the school. you excelled both in academics, as well as co-curricular activities.

Subsequently, you entered the University of Jaffna where you acquired your computer science honours degree. Then you served as a lecturer, at the School of computing University of Colombo, for a period of four years. Soon after, you moved to Sydney, Australia, where you pursued your PhD studies at the faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales focusing on mathematical modelling of infectious disease dynamics.

Your current work as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sydney focuses on using artificial intelligence to address real-world challenges, particularly in environmental monitoring and sustainable systems.

Beyond your researches, you contribute to the global academic community through your roles in leading IEEF journals and international conferences. Besides, you also serve as the chair of the Sydney Early and Mid-career Academic Network (Semcan) at the University of Sydney.

You have also been recognized with both national and international awards for your work in engineering and artificial intelligence. you recently won the award for the outstanding Engineer at the Women of Colour in STEM awards 2025 for developing an AI driven system to detect invasive species across vast post-mining landscapes. Your work also earned you a place as a finalist in the Women in AI Asia - Pacific awards 2024.

We are very happy and proud that such an eminent and versatile personality as Dr.Mehala Balamurali was able to be our Chief Guest at this function of ours.

Our Manager, Mrs. Christina Sutharshini Ekanayake, thank you for presiding at today’s function.

We are also happy to have with us on the stage our chaplain, the Rev. Stephen Jebachelvan and the Presidents of the Old Girls’ Associations of Jaffna and the Colombo branch.

It is also my privilege to welcome the special invitees, parents, and the past pupils of this college, to the annual prize giving. Your kind presence is a source of encouragement to our students.

The report that is being presented today, covers a period of one year from 13th July, 2025 to date.

Beyond the veil

Dr. Devanesan Nesiah, who served as the Government Agent of Jaffna in early eighties, passed away on 12th June 2026. He was widely respected for his humanitarian approach and commitment to justice. He served on the governing body for CMS schools in Sri Lanka as its Secretary and contributed a lot towards the development of our school.

Dr. Sotheeswary Kanagaratnam, an active committee member of the Old Girls’ Association passed away on 21st March, 2026. Her unwavering loyalty to the Almamater and commitment to the association was evident in whatever she did. We will miss her cheerful conversations at our monthly meetings.

Mrs. Shirley Chandraleela Thiagarajah, who taught in the primary school for a few years from January 1986 to June 1991, passed away on 28th February, 2026. She was a gifted teacher who made a lasting impact on many young lives. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to their families.

 Please click here for full report.