St. Joseph Higher Secondary School

St. Joseph Higher Secondary School
সেন্ট যোসেফ উচ্চ মাধ্যমিক বিদ্যালয়
Front view of St. Joseph College
Location
97 Asad Avenue, Mohammadpur, Dhaka

1207

Bangladesh
Coordinates23°45′35″N 90°22′12″E / 23.7598°N 90.3701°E / 23.7598; 90.3701
Information
Type
  • Higher Secondary Catholic missionary school
Motto
  • Latin : Progressus In Sapientia et Virtus
  • Advancing In Wisdom And Virtue
  • Bengali: প্রজ্ঞা ও পুণ্যের সাথে হও আগুয়ান
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dhaka
(Congregation of Holy Cross)
Established19 March 1954 (1954-03-19)
FounderBr. Jude Costello C.S.C
School boardDhaka Education Board
School districtDhaka
Session2025-26
School code1204
PrincipalBr. Leo J. Pereira C.S.C
Faculty85
Grades3-12
GenderMale
Enrollment2600 (As of 2023) Male
LanguageBangla and English
Campus size3.57 acres (1.44 ha)
Campus typeUrban
Color(s) White   Gray 
SloganOnce a Josephite, always Josephite
SportsFootball, basketball, cricket, chess, volleyball, athletics, table tennis, badminton
NicknameSt. Joseph College
PublicationThe Josephite
AlumniFull list
Alumni nameSaint Joseph Old Boys Foundation
DemonymJosephite
Named afterSaint Joseph
EIIN103564
Websitewww.sjs.edu.bd

North building of St. Joseph

St. Joseph Higher Secondary School (listenⓘ) (Bengali: সেন্ট যোসেফ উচ্চ মাধ্যমিক বিদ্যালয়), also known as SJC, is a Catholic higher secondary school in Asad Gate, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh, regarded as one of the best colleges in Bangladesh.[1] In 2023, St. Joseph was awarded the 'A+' grade.[2][3] It is a school offering education from third to twelfth grade, with pupils averaging 8 to 18 years of age. The school is a single-shift (morning) school with over 2,500 students.[4] In 1965, the college relocated to historical Asad Gate near Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban under the jurisdiction of the Mohammadpur Thana, and being named St. Joseph Higher Secondary School.[5]

After the independence of Bangladesh, it was changed from English to National Curriculum-based Bengali medium. At present, English and Bengali are used for teaching up to the higher secondary level. As the name St. Joseph Higher Secondary School suggests, education provided by the school is at the higher secondary level. Every year, about 500-600 students graduate from its Higher Secondary section and 170-180 students from the secondary school section. The students of this institution are known as "Josephite".[6] St. Joseph has been consistently ranked among the best academic institutions in Bangladesh.

The school has its own playground, basketball court, volleyball court, badminton court and table tennis court.[6]

History

Early history

North building of St. Joseph College in 1964

On March 19, 1954, Brother Jude Costello, an American missionary member of Congregation of Holy Cross working under the Catholic Archdiocese of Dhaka, who was also headmaster of St. Gregory's High School then, founded the school as the "St. Joseph English Medium School" at Monir Hossain Lane, Narinda, in the current old part of Dhaka. The institution had a General Certificate of Education (GCE) based education structure.[6] Classes were taught in the parlour for the first year. The following year, a single story building was constructed by Brother Andrew at Shah Shaheb Lane in Narinda. In 1960, a second roof was added, as the enrolment of the school rose to 269.

In 1963, nine years after opening, the school was sufficiently developed to enable two major accomplishments to take place. In October 1964, to accommodate increasing enrolment, Brother Fulgence, Superior of the Brothers, began work on a new school complex in Mohammadpur. In November of that same year, the first class of boys from St. Joseph sat for the Cambridge Examinations.

In July 1965, all the classes shifted from Narinda to the Mohammadpur compoyears.[4] The new school was very modern and unfinished, leaving students in early years to deal with active construction in their environment.[7]

Liberation War and ensuing history

St. Joseph during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971

Following the War of Independence, Principal Br. Ralph Baird departed from his teaching role, engaging actively in the nation's reconstruction efforts. He contributed significantly to the country's relief, and rehabilitation, and championed human rights initiatives through non-governmental development organizations. Concurrently, students from St. Joseph College, accompanied by teachers, ventured to remote regions in support of relief and rehabilitation endeavours on behalf of the institution.[8]

Construction of St Joseph Higher Secondary School in 1984

After the liberation and independence of Bangladesh, the school grew and developed with the new country. The medium of instruction changed to Bangla, and the school registered with the Dhaka education board. In 1973, the last of the Cambridge groups took their examinations.[9] During the ten years of Cambridge, 233 boys took the overseas examination and 98% passed with over 60% in the first division.[10] In 1974, the first batch of boys took the SSC Examination; 32 of the 33 boys passed and one of them placed first in the combined merit list.[2][11]

Current status

Garden of St. Joseph College

The school was initially named "St. Joseph High School". In 2001, Higher Secondary Education (equivalent to college) was introduced in Saint Joseph, and the name of the institution was changed to "Saint Joseph Higher Secondary School".[12]

The institution celebrated its Golden Jubilee at the campus in 2004, and on 19 March 2024, it celebrated its 70th anniversary of establishment.[13] In the later 21st century, St. Joseph has continued to expand in student body and faculty size, and has seen the establishment of several research centers and programs.[14][9]

Religious affiliation and ethos

Saint Joseph, after whom the college is named

The college is Roman Catholic and the Congregation of Holy Cross exercises responsibility over it through a Governing Body whose chairman is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dhaka, His Grace Most Rev. Msgr Bejoy N. D. Cruze, OMI. The institution is named after Saint Joseph, a Christian saint and the legal father of Jesus. The college seeks to give an all-round formation, inculcating both human and spiritual values. It gives special consideration to Roman Catholics and also Buddhists and Ethnic minority (under the minority rights enshrined in the Constitution of Bangladesh) for whose education the college was founded.[1]

Academic identification

St. Joseph's first gate
St. Joseph's first gate

Providing both primary and secondary education levels, since 2001 this institution has also offered higher secondary education. The secondary level has both science and commerce curriculum. The higher secondary level includes humanities too. All levels have both Bengali and English language versions, with each class having two Bengali and one English version sections. Since 2017, it has rebooted the English medium section of the school named St. Joseph International School following the Cambridge Curriculum.[10]

Admission

The school section admission goes through three levels: an interview, a written test and a final selection. Admission into class 3 is held officially, with around 2500-6000 students competing for only 180 seats. Other classes (4-9) may offer admissions if vacant seats are available.[6]

The college section usually selects only 600-700 students out of approximately 12000 applicants.[15]

Curriculum

Rag Day celebration in St. Joseph

The school follows the National Curriculum of studies. Upon establishment, it was an English Medium Cambridge school. Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the school adapted alongside the national curriculum. In 2004, it introduced the English version first in grade 6, gradually adding one English version section to each grade.[4]

The average graduating class from Saint Joseph each year has 160 to 180 students. The secondary level offers S.S.C (equivalent to O level) examinations and the higher secondary level offers H.S.C (equivalent to A level) examinations. The institution is recognized by the Board of Intermediate and Higher Secondary Educations.[10]

Grades and classes

St. Joseph uses names for its sections of grades, rather than numbers or letters. There are three sections for grades 3–10, and there are six sections for grades 11–12. In the school section, each class contains 50-60 students.[16]

Uniform

The school uniform consists of a white shirt (school logo on the left side for school students and right side for the college students), dark grey pants, and black shoes. The school also encourages proper hair cut. [10]

Campus

Outdoors

The school has a 3.5-acre campus. It has grounds for association football, basketball, cricket, and volleyball, amidst other sports.[6] The school basketball court, built in the 1960s and updated in 2008, also serves as a multipurpose auditorium. The main field is used as the football pitch and beside the main ground, the mini field is used as a volleyball court, with badminton courts to the side.[17][18]

Discipline Room

Infrastructure and buildings

The School Campus viewed from the first gate

A composite of two four-story buildings with a two-story building in the annex for teachers and office is located in Dhaka City. The four-story buildings are known as the north and south building. The ground floor of the south building serves as a table tennis court. The school has three main entrances. The first and the second serve as the entry for students and teachers, the third one is for official purposes. The 3rd canteen is located there. Furthermore, a water bottle refilling station has been added for students, which is really beneficial especially in this hot summer.[9]

Laboratories

One of the chemistry labs

Facilities include two computer labs equipped with multimedia projectors, a separate internet lab, two advanced chemistry labs, two physics labs and two biology labs.[19]

Canteens

There are a total of three cafeterias on campus. The North Building has a modern food court for its students. While the main canteen offers various nutritious foods for the students.[4]

Library

Library of Saint Joseph Higher Secondary School

The library was founded in 1954. It has approximately 10,000 books and magazines. The library works with the Bishwa Sahitya Kendra and British Council to arrange book reading programs. There are 2 library teachers assigned to comply the necessary tasks inside the library. Furthermore, librarians are selected from different classes, which boosts the inspiration to perform the duty inside the library. Recently, BKash and Bishwa Sahitya Kendra jointly donated more than 2000 books to the library.[20]

Purposes of the campus

National Math Olympiad 2013 at St. Joseph Higher Secondary School

The southwest corner of the school holds a small hostel for the Brothers of Holy Cross. Since 2004, the school has hosted the national occurrence of the Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad.[5]

Academic results and records

Award room of St. Joseph

Past and current faculties

Spes Unica at St. Joseph Higher Secondary School

Starting with a handful of American Brothers from Congregation of Holy Cross, the school received the services of a large number of teachers both before and after integrating itself with the secondary education system in Bangladesh. The current faculty consists of 50 secondary teachers, 25 higher secondary teachers, two counsellors, two prefects of discipline, two librarians, office staffs, two sports instructors, and individual coaches for the soccer, basketball and cricket teams. Leo James Pereira is the current principal of the school. Brother Nipu Hubert Rozario is the current vice-principal of this institution.

Extracurricular activities

St. Joseph has numerous extracurricular programs. Joseph's students, "Josephites", maintain relationships with peers from other colleges by participating in inter-college competitions and college festivals.

Scintilla Science Club

The Scintilla Science Club was established in 1957. It organizes an annual science fair. In 2023, the event drew 700 participants from 60 institutions. In addition to science projects displays, it featured Olympiads, quizzes, and other contests.[23][28]

Josephite Reading and Language Club

The Josephite Language and Reading Club (JLRC) was founded in 2004. It organises an annual inter-school literature festival that features such events as a story writing contest, spelling bee, English Olympiad, quizzes, and extempore speaking competition.[29][30]

Notable alumni

The school's alumni include sportspeople, business executives, musicians, academics, politicians, military officers, and entertainers. Warfaze, one of the first heavy metal bands in Bangladesh, was started in 1984 by Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal and other boys from St. Joseph.[31] Three of the five (as of 2017) Bangladeshi chess grandmasters, including the first South Asian grandmaster, Niaz Murshed, attended St Joseph.[32][33]

Academia

Omar Ishrak

Business

Entertainment

Military

Music

Tarique Rahman

Politics

Sports and games

References

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