R.I.T. Alles' funeral tomorrow

The funeral of one of Sri Lanka's top educationists R.I.T. Alles will take place tomorrow. He passed away on Thursday at his residence following a brief illness. He was 81 at the time of his demise.

The funeral will be held at the Borella Cemetery. Ralph Ignatius Thomas Alles was born on October 3, 1932 in Galle. He was educated at St. Aloysius' College, Galle and at St. Anthony's College, Kandy.

He married Rohini Alles, who was a teacher at Royal College. They had three sons Tiran, Harsha and Malik. Tiran Alles is a leading businessmen and a Member of Parliament. Harsha Alles is a medical doctor turned corporate executive in the Gateway Group. R.I.T.'s youngest son, Malik Alles died at the age 17 in a sporting accident at his alma mater D.S. Senanayake College.

He served as Secretary of the Ministry of Education from 1989 to 1993. Alles is the founding Principal of D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo 7.

Alles started his career as a teacher at Royal College, Colombo and later served as the Vice Principal. Later he was the pioneering Principal of D.S. Senanayake College, established on February 10, 1967.

D.S. Senanayake College is a premiere educational institute in Sri Lanka. Within a short span it has gained many achievements in academic and non academic fields, locally and internationally and is an example of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious College.

After serving nearly two and a half decades at D.S. Senanayake College, Alles established the Gateway Institute which emerged as one of the first few successful private education institutes providing quality education in the country. Under the Gateway Group, Alles established Gateway International School. Until his death he served as chairman of the Gateway Group.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa paid his last respects at the residence of the late R.I.T. Alles on Thursday.