By Ishu Bandara A/Kagama Yaya 9 Maha Vidyalaya, located in Thalawa within the Thambuththegama Education Zone of the North Central Province, has achieved a remarkable milestone by becoming the first school in Sri Lanka to be selected as a global finalist for the prestigious Zayed Sustainability Prize 2027 under the Global High Schools category. This [...]
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A/Kagama Yaya 9 Maha Vidyalaya, located in Thalawa within the Thambuththegama Education Zone of the North Central Province, has achieved a remarkable milestone by becoming the first school in Sri Lanka to be selected as a global finalist for the prestigious Zayed Sustainability Prize 2027 under the Global High Schools category.
This is a prestigious annual award hosted by the United Arab Emirates to recognise and support innovative solutions that address global sustainability challenges and improve people’s lives.
Held as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the awards ceremony brings together world leaders, policymakers, industry experts and young changemakers to celebrate sustainable initiatives.
Kagama Yaya 9 Maha Vidyalaya principal Ashoka Karunarathna told the Sunday Times that it was a historic moment for the school.
“Being among the three finalists for this prestigious global award is a great achievement, and as far as we know, it is the first time a Sri Lankan school has reached this stage,” he said.
He said they first learned about the award through a notice published by the Department of Education, and the science teacher, Asanka Pushpakumara, was keen to apply.
The Zayed Sustainability Prize recognises practical, high-impact innovations across several categories. Under the Global High Schools category, the award encourages students to develop innovative solutions to address environmental, energy, food, water and health challenges affecting their schools and communities, empowering young people to make a meaningful contribution towards a more sustainable future.
Six winning schools are selected annually, representing six global regions: the Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe and Central Asia, South Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific. Each winning school receives up to US$150,000 to implement its proposed sustainability project and turn its ideas into practical solutions that benefit its school or wider community.
Mr Pushpakumara told the Sunday Times the team was motivated by the long-standing challenges faced by the local community.
“Our area has been struggling with water shortages, particularly from August until the end of the year. Many people in the community also suffer from kidney-related illnesses, and concerns about the quality of drinking water have been serious issues for a long time,” he said.
He explained that the school does not offer Advanced Level classes in the science stream, making it challenging to find students with an interest in developing a science-based sustainability project. However, with the support of the school, five interested students from other Advanced Level streams were selected to take part.
“Under my guidance and supervision, these five students worked together to develop a sustainability project aimed at addressing not only our community’s water problems but also challenges related to electricity supply and agriculture. We wanted to find a practical solution that could make a real difference to the lives of people in our area,” Mr. Pushpakumara told the Sunday Times .
The project combines renewable energy, clean water, and agriculture.
It includes installing solar panels on rooftops of school buildings and a water purification system that would make use of rainwater collected in storage tanks during the early months of the year, up to August, when water is more readily available.
The project also aims to make productive use of the school buildings’ bare walls by growing agricultural plants, creating an opportunity for the school to generate income by selling its produce to the community.
Selected from an unprecedented 10,233 submissions spanning 177 countries, Kagama Yaya 9 Maha Vidyalaya secured a place among the top three finalists representing South Asia, competing alongside Motithang Higher Secondary School in Thimphu, Bhutan, and Shree Saraswati Secondary School in Nepal.
Awards will be presented on January 12, 2027, during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Established in 1954 in a farming settlement developed under the agricultural colonisation programme introduced by former Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake, Kagama Yaya 09 Maha Vidyalaya currently serves nearly 500 students.
Two of the five students and their teacher have been invited to the awards ceremony.
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