The 124th Annual Prize Day of Zahira College was held recently at the Gaffoor Hall. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe graced the occasion as Chief Guest and Minister of Education, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam as Guest of Honour. Other prominent attendees were Minister A.H.M. Fowzie, Prof. M.T.A. Furkhan, Palestine Ambassador for Sri Lanka, Fawzan Anver former Principals and a host of foreign dignitaries.
Principal, Trizvi Marikkar delivered the keynote speech highlighting the importance of education and the remarkable achievements that it can lead to. He emphasized the fact that, although Zahira is a premier Muslim educational institution, traditionally it has welcomed the enrolment of non-Muslim students as well. To amplify his assertion, the Principal mentioned some of the illustrious non- Muslim old Zahirians like Anandasangaree and Bandara.
The Principal also made an impassioned appeal for prime minister’s consideration for the establishment of an educational institution at Zahira College’s 7 acre land at Maharagama. Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his address, stressed the value of reconciliation and communal harmony and spoke at length about the country’s economic progress and its development.
The Chairman, Board of Governors Fouzul Hameed bemoaned our community’s lack of educational facilities specifically in and around Colombo and appealed to the government to open more schools to redress this grievance.
The Prime Minister and the Minister of Education distributed the prizes to the students. The Best All Rounder of the College M.M.M. Musharraf received the N.D.H. Abdul Ghafoor Gold Medal, Deshamanya Prof. M.T.A. Furkhan Challenge Cup and Brigadier A. Ariyapperuma Memorial Challenge Cup from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Vote of Thanks was delivered by the Head Prefect, Mafaz Mihular.
Text and pix: Ruzaik Farook