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Guru Griho

From Pabna

Sharisha Primary School: 100 Years and Counting

Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu

Azizul Haque, 61, former executive engineer of Power Development Board (PDB), came to Sharisha village after a long time from his home in Rajshahi. Not just him, but many other elderly people of different areas of the country had came to Sharisha village of Santhia upazila under Pabna district. Amongst those that came are Ishhaque Ali, former Customs officer of Chatragram, Abdul Kader Saraker, former chairman of 'Karigari Education board', and Abdur Rouf Sarkar, former principal of Pabna Edward College. They congregated to celebrate the 100 years anniversary of the primary school of the village.

The Sharisha Primary School is one of the oldest primary schools of the district. A grand program was organized to observe the 100 years foundation anniversary of Sharisha Primary School. The school authority had organized a 3 day-long colorful programs to observe the event starting March 18. The entire village turned luminous with the reunion of the former students of the school who are also the brightest sons of the village. State Minister Advocate Samsul Haque Tuku inaugurated the program.

School sources informed Star Insight that the school's journey started in 1910 during the British tenure. At the time, there were no other primary schools in this region. Sharisha village is situated in Karamja union in Santhia upazila. The school used to be called Sharisha Pathshala which was started in the residence of Alimuddin Sarkar of the village with only 15 students in its first year. The number of students started to grow almost daily as there were no other schools during the time. Students from Sharisha, Karamja and some other villages used to come to the school for learning, and with a massive student body, the school took an institutional shape quite quickly.

Shariatullah Pandit and Fayez Uddin Sarkar donated lands for establishing the school in the village. In 1973, the Sharisha Primary School was affiliated with the Education Board of Bangladesh. The government had sanctioned Tk. 13.35 lakh in FY 2006-07 alone for infrastructural development, after which a concrete building was constructed.

The concluding program was held on school premises on March 20. Director General of Shilpokala Academy Kamal Lohani spoke as the chief guest on the occasion. Former headmaster of the school Gulzar Hossain chaired the concluding program while the former students Abdur Rouf, advocate Abdul Hamid head master of the school Ismat Ara spoke on the occasion.

The headmaster of the school Ismat Ara said that the Sharisha Primary school has been contributing to improvement of education in the region for the last 100 years. Among the former students who visited the ceremony of the school, 26 BSC Engineers, 14 agriculturists, 50 diploma engineers, 20 diploma agriculturists, 4 doctors and 8 PhD holders are serving the country.

Thousands of people including former students and the villagers gathered together in the school in the three days of the anniversary program. The headmaster of the school Ismat Ara said that though the school is 100 years old but there are many looming problems. Just three teachers are working in the school at the moment catering to three class rooms which accommodate over two hundred students. New classrooms and staff are essential to ensure proper education of the students, said the principal.