Anula Vidyalaya, which was inaugurated on the 6th of January 1941 was run under the Government as a dependent school for a few years. Until then the school did not have a Past Pupils’ Association. Ms Rathnapala formed a PPA by gathering teachers from Anula Montessori, who were past pupils of Anula Vidyalaya.
The first official committee consisted of a President, Vice President, two Co-Secretaries, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer and 7 committee members. Though the principal was the president of the committee according to the constitution, the organization was run by the Vice President.
The first Vice President was Mrs. Kusuma Perera nee Wijerathne. One of her closest friends, Mrs. Thelma Perera too, was a very active member of the PPA. Though the membership fee for the PPA was a meager amount, the participation for the organization was not satisfactory. In 1969, the then principal Ms N. Rathnapala retired and the position was taken on by Miss C.K. Abeyrathne. She too rendered her best in order to boost up the PPA, but unfortunately, the lack of enthusiasm of the past pupils made the task very difficult.
In 1975, Mrs. D.S. Meegoda was appointed as Principal after the retirement of Miss C.K. To get the PPA back on track, Mrs. Meegoda thought of a clever plan. She appointed Mrs. Vinitha Ranwala, in 1981 as the new Secretary of the PPA. Since she lived in close proximity to the school and also because she was a very enthusiastic and a popular student during her school days. As a result of the immense service and sacrifice Mrs. Ranwala rendered for the PPA, the organization was uplifted, and the number of members increased. She also made sure that past pupils who were in good career positions became active members and utilized their expertise and knowledge for the development of the organization. In addition, she was able to collect funds from past pupils overseas. During this time, past pupils became members on a daily basis and the number of members increased rapidly, as well as their enthusiasm to help develop the school.
By the late 80’s the number of members increased significantly. After Mrs. Meegoda retired in 1985, Mrs. Leelananda became the Principal of Anula Vidyalaya and the new President of the PPA. She too rendered a great service towards the progress of the organization. In 1987, Mrs. K. Welikala who was a past pupil of Anula Vidyalaya became the new Principal. Under her leadership, the PPA started raising funds in order to purchase a vehicle for the school. Her dream was fulfilled in 1991, when Dr. Dulcie Winsdor, the new Principal, presented the vehicle purchased by the PPA to the school. The official ceremony took place at the government office of the then Minister of Education, Mr. Lalith Ethulathmudali.
From 1991 onwards the PPA has rendered a yeoman service towards the development of Anula Vidyalaya. The Principals, Mrs. I. Jinasena, Mrs. Chithra Jayathilaka, Mrs. Neelamani Malaviarachchi, and Mrs. Kalyani Gunasekara spearheaded the PPA towards developing the school by generating funds towards the construction of the Gymnasium and Auditorium, which is the biggest project undertaken up to date.
