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Guru Griho
From Kurigram

Kurigram Government High School Turns 115

On the occasion of its 115th anniversary, we pen the history of Kurigram Government High School and remember its' notable students.

Abdul Wahed

Kurigram Government High School recently turned 115. Of the institutions in the district that offer secondary level education, this is one of the best. The school was initially set up in Kurigram town near the river Dharla in 1895. At the time, the name of the school was Kurigram High English School, and the first headmaster of the school was Bireswar Roy.

The school is one of the six high schools that were in greater Rangpur in 1895. The name of the school was published in the Kolkata Gazette in 1896. The school has long retained its image of having its students perform well in exams and on the 15th of November 1968, it was made a Government concern.

At its inception, eight students from the school participated in the Entrance Examination under Kolkata Education Board in 1895. The pioneering students were Kripa Nath Datta, Jatindra Nath Chakrabarti, Kaylash Chandra, Kaminikanta Majumdar, Kaliproshanna Shannal, Gopal Chandra Gooh, Protap Chandra Roy and Pran Gobinda Bhattacharja. In the examination only one student passed, who was Jatindra Nath Chakrabarti, scoring second division.

No brick building was constructed for the school till after 20 years of its inception. Students were taught under a tin-shed. A brick building was constructed for the school in 1916, which was washed away by erosion caused by the river Dharla in 1956. The school was then set up on 7.60 acres of government-acquired land at the heart of the town. At present, the institution stands on a large, sprawling campus with buildings, a generous number of trees, a large pond and a big playground. The school has 30 teachers including an Asst. Headmaster and a Headmaster, attending to 720 students in two shifts. There are three faculties: science, arts and commerce. A library containing about 2,500 books, a science laboratory and a computer laboratory have been established for the students. There is a teachers' dormitory and a students' hostel with 32 seats in the school campus.

The school has been conducting general education with co-curricular activities such as sports, cultural programmes, scouting and the Red Crescent Society for students. The students have consistently won several awards in different sports and cultural functions every year. This year the students participated in the National Science Olympiad 2010 in Dhaka and got a championship trophy in the Interschool Debate Competition 2010, where the Kurigram Government High School represented the entire district.

Every year a number of students have scored a GPA-5 in SSC examinations under the Rajshahi Education Board (now under Dinajpur Education Board), and they have been keeping their position at a respectable level among other secondary institutions in the district. Most of the students are gaining admission to the best Higher Secondary Schools of the country.

A number of students have made contributions to the country as social and government servants. The first graduate Jatindra Nath Chakrabarti (Matriculation in 1895) became an advocate, Pana Ullah Ahmed (Matriculation in 1923) became Deputy Commissioner of Dinajpur district, Kazi Enamul Haque (Matriculation in 1925) was a Joint Secretary of Customs, Panir Uddin Ahmed (Matriculation in 1926) was Secretary of the Muslim League in 1955 and a member of the National Council and Reaz Uddin Ahmed (Matriculation in 1941) was an Advocate, a Minister and a Deputy Speaker. Dramatist Syed Shamsul Haque was also a student of the school, while Hossain Ali (Matriculation in 1965) is a professor of BUET and Major (ret.) Abdus Salam (Matriculation in 1968) was a General Manager of Bangladesh Airlines.

The present headmaster of the school, Farida Yasmin said, “We are trying to keep up the performance of our students by maintaining our teaching quality at a certain standard. Students are taught in a good environment by a number of dedicated teachers. We are preparing our students with all-round curriculums. Our students, who regularly do well in regional and national events, are going on to achieve great things.”