LASTING MEMORIES OF A FATHER AND GUARDIAN

THe was a father and a guardian to every student alike. His untimely death left a void in the fervent hope he had in his mind to raise the standard of the technical courses to higher levels, to be on par with the University in Canada, and to create this Institute as the Faculty of Engineering in the Eastern Province His last wishes were to have his body cremated in the Institute premises and the ashes to be laid there

he 50th death anniversary of late Professor Evan A. Hardy, founder of the “Technical Training Institute” Ampara in the year 1956 (presently known as “Hardy Senior Technological Institute”) falls on 4th December 2013.

Arriving in Ceylon in 1951 as an Agricultural Expert of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) of the United Nations, he served in various parts of Ceylon, including Mahailuppallama in the beginning, and then in the Gal Oya Development Board, the first Statutory Corporation established in the country in 1949, as the first Development Project in the Dry Zone.

Having arrived in the Gal Oya Valley, he identified that the project could not meet the set targets with the available resources in the valley. The priority requirement according to him was the lack of technical manpower.

With the consent of the Government of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) he set up a “Technical Training Institute” at Ampara in the Gal Oya Valley under the auspices of the Colombo Plan, to serve as a Regional Training Centre in Engineering Technology for the South-East-Asian Region.

Professor Evan A. Hardy was given full authority to go ahead with organising the “Technical Training Institute” under his control, to produce the much needed middle level engineering personnel for this development project, as the immediate requirement.The following diploma courses were conducted after erecting the necessary infrastructure on priority basis, and the courses were open even to students from the South and South-Eastern Countries. a) Mechanical Engineering b) Civil Engineering c) Electrical Engineering d) Agricultural Engineering e) Soil Science f) Surveying & Levelling g) Irrigation The first historical batch of local students who joined the Institute on 10th February 1956, had to undergo an intensive training programme in the following manner: 1st session - from 6.00 a.m. to 12 noon 2nd session - from 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m 3rd session - from 6 p.m. to 8.00 p.m The photograph shows the names and the countries of the 1st batch of foreign students who followed the courses at the Institute. The course-work was conducted at the Institute in its lecture rooms, draufting room, science laboratories and the library. Subjects were taught to students according to their choice of the engineering field, along with on-the-job training in specific fields.

As an old Hardian, it is actually proud to mention that some of the first batch of students who passed out then, after achieving theoretical and practical knowledge, and after getting through the final exams set out by Professor Evan A. Hardy, were later able to replace the experts who were there (who had come from foreign countries).

The same trend continued, and the graduates who passed out from the Institute were immediately absorbed to the Gal Oya Development Board, and with the expertise knowledge inculcated in them by the Professor under the motto “Honesty Training Industry” helped the Gal Oya Development Board to complete the work within the expected time period, and to shift to the Uda Walawe Project with the other resources and man-power.

The writer, Col. W.D. Samarasena, who is the current President of the Old Hardians Association, had been working as a mechanical engineering graduate of the Institute at the time, and can still remember how we proceeded to Uda Walawe for the inauguration of the project in a convoy led by the then Lands, Land Development, Power and Irrigation Minister C.P. De Silva, with a stop-over on the first night at “Kataragama Devale.”

The engineering courses continued under the guidance of Prof. Evan A. Hardy as the Director of the ‘Technical Training Institute’ Ampara until his unexpected demise on 4th December 1963.

He was a father and a guardian to every student alike. His untimely death left a void in the fervent hope he had in his mind to raise the standard of the technical courses to higher levels, to be on par with the University in Canada, and to create this Institute as the Faculty of Engineering in the Eastern Province.

His last wishes were to have his body cremated in the Institute premises and the ashes to be laid there.

As a mark of respect to this eminent personality, the Technical Training Institute was named after him as “Hardy Institute of Technical Training,” and later as “Hardy Senior Technical Institute” and now as “Hardy Advanced Technological Institute. Colonel W.D. Samarasena Senior Vice-Patron OHA, President OHA 2012/2013

Some of the first batch of students who passed out after achieving theoretical and practical knowledge, and after getting through the final exams set out by Professor Evan A. Hardy, were later able to replace the experts who were there (who had come from foreign countries).