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Guru Griho

From Mymensingh

Gobinda Kumar Pilot High School touches 90

Aminul Islam with Shuvra Kar

THERE are many examples of great hearts in our country. Such people in Sherpur were responsible for setting up this school which is now just a decade short of being 100. Gobinda Kumar Pilot High School was a historical establishment, for both its founders as well as for the locality. Now the school is 90 years old.

Gobinda Kumar Pilot High School (GK Pilot High School), a school situated in Sherpur town, a remote district town deserves national recognition for its contribution over the last nine decades. One of the old alum of this school has been working at NASA in the USA. The school has also produced many students who have gone on to do really well in life.

Five brothers of a family, the former students of this school are now established in their respective fields. They are Chief Chemical Inspector Dilip Kumar Kar, Principal of a college; Satish Chandra Kar, Vice-Principal of a college; Ashish Chandra Kar, Agriculture Officer; Khitish Chandra Kar and Debashish Chandra Kar, an astrologer.

The school was established in 1918 on 6 acres of land during the rule of George, the Fifth. The then Zamindars of Sherpur Babu Gopal Das Chowdhury, Shatindra Kumar Chowdhury and Sattendra Mohan Chowdhury took initiatives to serve the people of their locality establishing a school which was a crying need at that time. Among the great hearts, Babu Gopal Das Chowdhury donated Tk. 25,000, Babu Shatindra Kumar Chowdhury donated Tk. 15,000 and Babu Sattendra Mohan Chowdhury contributed Tk 10,000 at the initial stage of its establishment. Some other generous people like Dhirendra Nath Lahiri, Robi Niyogi and Mohini Mohan Kar extended their helping hands to speed up the school's activities fast in this region.

The school was named Gobinda Kumar Peace Memorial Institution after Babu Gopal Das Chowdhury's father. Later the school was renamed Gobinda Kumar High School and the present name of the school is Gobinda Kumar Pilot High School (GK Pilot High School).

The Headmasters who led the school successfully since its establishment in 1918 have become dear to the people of the region. Nalini Kanta Sen was the founder Headmaster of the school. Later Bijoy Kumar Bhattacharya was appointed as its Headmaster. Nalini Kanta and Bijoy Kumar Bhattacharya served the school for more than 40 years and took the school to a reasonable position. Later Rohini Hurr served the school as its third head and he continued in this post till the War of Liberation. Other Headmasters are Md. Johurul Haque, Md. Abdul Jalil, Md. Alal Uddin (In-Charge) and Md. Azahar Ali, B.Sc, B.Ed, present Headmaster of the school.

The school houses 26 rooms and 10 rooms are being used for classes. The school also has two rooms for arts, engineering and drawing, one for science laboratory. The school has a library called Hironmoyee, named after a woman of the zaminder's family which is also used as a teachers' common room. Now the school has some 600 students and a staff of 14 teachers. 11 of them are under Monthly Pay Order (MPO). But the school needs more teachers to run the educational activities smoothly, school sources said. It takes part in extra-curricular activities in the district level actively, sources added.

Since its inception, the school has been running courses from class three to ten. Till 2003, it was open to boys only. Now it is open to both boys and girls for Science, Arts and Commerce.

Terming the school as one of fine examples of the history, Chief Chemical Inspector Dilip Kumar Kar said that we pray for success of the school. He also said measures should be taken to revive the school.

As one of the oldest schools in Sherpur, it has some problems that should be addressed immediately. Rainwater leaks through some parts of the old building in the rainy season hampering the classes. Older parts need to be repaired, said Md. Azahar Ali, Headmaster. The library has a good collection of old books but contemporary, more relevant books are needed to help the students with their current needs.

Shuvra Kar is a student and a member of The Daily Star Readers Club, Mymensingh