Feature
Reflections on Chittagong College
The Oldest College of Bangladesh
Tabassum Mokhduma
STILL I remember clearly, when my brother got promoted to class nine, my parents used to tell him to study harder so that he gets good grades in his S.S.C (Secondary School Certificate Examination) so that he has a chance to study in Chittagong College for H.S.C. (Higher Secondary Certificate Examination). Not only this, as a student I have always seen a strong determination among the students of Science and Humanities group to study in Chittagong College. The reason was not only that this college is one of the famous colleges of the country, but also is the fact that it has always been considered as a sign of meritorious students.
Chittagong College, which is also officially known as Chittagong Government College, is one of the oldest colleges of Bangladesh. It is situated in the College Road area of Chawkbazar, the heart of the port city. Having started out in a Portuguese-merchant built building beside Parade Ground, the sports ground of the institution as Chittagong District School in 1836; thirty-three years later, it was upgraded to an Intermediate College in 1869 by offering F.A. (First Arts) course and took its present name Chittagong College. Mr. JC Bose was appointed the first principal. Within a year, the college had to close down because of financial constraints. It was reopened in 1871 with the help of a grant of Rs 10,000 donated by Roy Bahadur Golakchandra Roy of Dhum of Mirsharai upazila.
Initially, the college offered courses upto F.A. Level. Besides F.A. course it also provided education in Law for students to enable them to qualify for pleader ship examinations. Law education in the college, however, was suspended in 1909.
It started providing science education in Intermediate section (H.S.C.) from the year 1909 and became a graduation college in 1910. Now this college is giving Honours and Masters degree in 16 subjects besides continuing its Intermediate course.
In 1912, University of Calcutta registered it as a first grade degree college and allowed it to offer Honours courses in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry besides Pass Level courses. In 1919, Honours course in English was introduced. Besides Economics and Philosophy was added as supplementary courses from this year.
In 1926, the first student dormitory was established by eminent politician, the then Education Minister of Bengal Province Sher-E-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Huq. From this year co-education was introduced. In 1942, Honours course in Economics was also introduced.
The college suspended its Honours programme in 1955 but reintroduced Honours courses on English, Bangla, Economics, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in 1960. B.Sc. (Bachelor of Science) courses on Zoology and Botany and B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) /B.Sc. course on Statistics were introduced in 1962.
From 1955 to 1965 the college experienced enormous infrastructural developments. These included modernisation of science laboratories, construction of a big administrative building, new students' hostel and separate buildings for Chemistry, Physics and Biology departments, and expansion of the old hostel.
When University of Dhaka was established in 1921, this college became registered as Degree College under this university. At present, this college offers Honours and Masters course under National University on 16 different subjects, namely Bangla, English, Economics, Political Science, History, Islamic History and Culture, Philosophy, Sociology, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Mathematics, Statistics, Geography and Psychology.
Presently, the college has more than 10,500 students and around 100 teachers for its two faculties, i.e. Faculty of Arts and Social Science and Faculty of Science and provides education through its five academic buildings. The Faculty of Arts and Social Science comprises Department of Bengali, English, Economics, Political Science, History, Islamic History and Culture, Philosophy, Sociology, Arabic Studies, Pali, Sanskrit, Geography, Psychology, Mathematics and Statistics while Faculty of Science includes Department of Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Statistics, Mathematics, Geography and Psychology.
It has one of the oldest libraries in Bangladesh which houses more than 60,000 books on different subjects. Besides, each department has their own seminar library for Honours and Masters students.
There is a medium sized Botanical Garden inside the college campus. This garden is maintained by the Department of Botany. This is a rich botanical garden in the sense that it has some rare species of Angiosperm plants notably Cycas.The college also has a Zoological museum which is maintained by the Department of Zoology.
Among the four dormitories, three are for male students. Besides Sher-E-Bangla Dormitory, the other two dormitories for male students are Saheed Sohrawordy Dormitory and Dr. Abdus Sabur Dormitory while the lone dormitory for female students is called Hazrat Khadizatul Kobra (R) Dormitory. Its sports ground which is known as Parade Ground is one of the largest sports ground of the country.
In addition to its academic facilities, Chittagong College also provides Co-curricular Activities for its student. Besides its Math Club and Chittagong College Debating Club (CDS), there is also opportunity to join Rover Scout and Bangladesh National Cadet Corp (B.N.C.C). Apart from these, the college also provides some additional facilities that include a two-storied mosque, two different common rooms for male and female students (the common room for female students is a two-storied building), a canteen located between auditorium and administrative building, gymnasium, post-office and bank (Pubali Bank, Chittagong College Branch).
Students of the college have made significant contribution in the history of this country. Also many distinguished scholars have taught here over the years. Among them were Surendranath Dasgupta, Beni Madhab Das, Janardan Chakravarti, Bhabatosh Dutta, Subodh Sengupta, Sudip Saha, Jogeshchandra Singha, Mansur Uddin, Motahar Hossain Chowdhury, Momotazuddin Ahmed and Nobel laureate Dr. Mohammad Yunus (Intermediate 1957, Lecturer 1961-65).
With its motto “Shikkhai Shokti” (Education is Power), this prestigious college came a long way since its establishment. Still one of the most sought after college for the students, this institution has played a great role in spreading education. Though many says that this institution has lost its wow factor in a great extent because of session jams, unwanted negative student politics and others, but still this college remains as one of the finest in the country with good results on a regular basis.
The Alumni Speak out…
Tabassum Mokhduma
 SINCE its foundation, Chittagong College has produced some of the finest students who have reached the peak of success and contributed to the advancement of the society in many ways. Star Campus recently spoke to some of the well-known personalities of the society who spent some of their most important years in this college. Following are the excerpts from conversations with some of the former students of Chittagong College.
Professor Dr. Shyamal Kanti Biswas, Vice Chancellor, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) and Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, CUET
Dr. Biswas studied in Chittagong College during the period 1964-1965 and passed his H.S.C. in the year 1965. He studied in this college only for a year as in the 1st year of H.S.C. he was in Notre Dame College and left Dhaka after the shocking Hindu-Muslim riot in the early months of 1964.
Which appealed Dr. Biswas about the students of his time was their strong determination to do something for the country.
“One day I was talking to Anis (Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmood), a very good student, at the end of our 2nd year classes about future education. He just mentioned that he will not go for Engineering and Medical studies rather he will enter University of Dhaka so that he can get a chance to become a politician. Later we saw that his vision about future became a reality”, he said mentioning that now when he sees students with no such resolve he feels sad. He thinks that it is an institution that plays the leading role to make students determined about their future.
“When I was a student we had an excellent library, an auditorium and well established laboratories, hostels and other facilities. We had no space problems.The parade ground was a memorable place to walk and play beyond college hours. We had many renowned Professors like Professor Dewan Mohd Ahmed Chowdhury (Physics), Professor Azharul Uddin (English), Professor Dr. Hafiz Uddin (Chemistry), Professor Momtazuddin (Bengali) and others. And we were very lucky to have Professor Abu Rushd Motinuddin as Principal. Learning experience in Chittagong College became even more special because of these dedicated teachers. In a line, I can say that we had a memorable time at Chittagong College”, shared Dr. Biswas.
Shaheen Ferdawsi, Head of the Department of Economics, Mahila College Chattagram
Ms. Ferdawsi studied in Chittagong College from 1975-1981 and did her H.S.C. and Honours in Economics from this college. According to her it has been a great experience studying in this esteemed college. “At that time this was the only institution which used to come to our minds for not only intermediate level but also for higher studies. Moreover, only the best of students could make it to this college. So undoubtedly, there existed a tough competition to become a student of this college”, she said.
During her times it was impossible to think of skipping classes as everything was taught in the college itself and if one missed a day, s/he was bound to face difficulty. Moreover as both the teachers and students were quite serious and dedicated there was no for private tuitions after class. “Now most of the students end up running after the coaching centres that put the efficiency of the college, teachers and the students in question. This trend certainly needs to be changed”, said Ms Ferdawsi.
Professor Dr. Selim Mohammed Jahangir, Principal, Chittagong Medical College
Dr. Selim was a student of Chittagong College during his H.S.C. from 1976-78.As most of the meritorious students studied in this college; the overall competition among the students was really enjoyable. Moreover, he said that the amazing teachers were always there to make the learning experience pleasant.
“I still remember Taher Sir (Mathematics), Ranjit Sir (English), Professor Sirazuddowla (Bengali) with utmost respect. These teachers were like role models who played a great role in shaping the life of the students as well as my own'', Dr. Selim mentioned with a grief that now a days there are less teachers with such competence as meritorious students hardly come to take up teaching as profession. He also said that the lab facilities, collection of books in the libraries were really good at that time which helped the students to a great extent and encouraged to do research.
Abul Momen, Resident Editor, Chittagong, The Daily Prothom Alo
Mr. Momen studied in Chittagong College from 1965-1971 and completed his H.S.C. and Honours in English. Now a well-known journalist, he believes that this college is responsible for what he is today. “In our times Chittagong College was the dream college for every student. It was the cultural hub of the students and besides education, different extra-curricular activities were promoted in the college”, he said.
At that time teacher-student relationship was really praiseworthy, mentioned Mr. Momen. He said that the teachers were so cooperative that they used to help students in both academic and extra-curricular activities. “Still I remember, Moniruzzaman Sir wrote a song in our Fresher reception”, he said with a broad smile that clearly depicts how heartfelt the teachers were.
What hurts him most is the present situation of the college, which repeatedly faced several problems that tainted its glory. “In our times brilliant students used to do student politics. Being a part of student politics for the sake of the country was something special. Students of this college contributed to a great extent in many national movements. But now a day student politics bears an unwanted image that disgraces both the education and the college activities itself”, he added.
For these former students of this college, attending classes were an extraordinary experience. Teaching was a noble profession in the true sense. But now the college lacks such teachers who can change a student's life. “The college administration was nice, teachers were more cooperative, they possessed the capability to inspire the students, and moreover there were hardly any dirty student politics. As a result Chittagong College was on the top. But now when we see that this college is losing its age-old glory and students and teachers are running after G.P.A. 5.00 instead of instilling true education we feel embarrassed. Good results are important but what is the point of achieving good results by memorizing notes without understanding? Now it seems that photocopy shops can provide more education with loads of notes because of which students keep skipping classes and collects notes before exams!” They strongly believe that it's not very late yet and this college can once again regain its lost glory.
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