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Rajshahi College ( bn, রাজশাহী কলেজ ''Rajshahi Kôlej'') is the third oldest institution of higher education in
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. Established in 1873 in
Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi District ...
city, it is the third oldest college in Bangladesh after
Dhaka College Dhaka College ( bn, ঢাকা কলেজ also known as DC) is the oldest secular educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhaka. It offers higher secondary education ( HSC). It has Honours and Masters programs as well which are aff ...
and
Chittagong College Chittagong College is a government college in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is the second college established in Bangladesh after Dhaka College. It offers higher secondary education (HSC), bachelor's degree and master's degree. History Having begun ...
. In 1895, Rajshahi College was the first institution in the territories now comprising Bangladesh to award a graduate (master's) degree. The first two master's degree candidates, Cayan Uddin Ahmed (Chawyone Uddin Ahmed) and N. N. Lehari, after graduation became Chief Secretary of Bengal and Session Judge respectively. Later both were awarded Khan Bahadur and Roy Bahadur titles. Rajshahi College offers three years bachelor and four years honours degree courses in various disciplines. The college is affiliated with the
National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...
. Since 1996, it has stopped enrolling higher secondary students. It again started enrolling higher secondary students in 2010. Situated in the city center, Rajshahi College is adjacent to
Rajshahi Collegiate School Rajshahi Collegiate School ( bn, রাজশাহী কলেজিয়েট স্কুল) in Boalia Thana in the center of Rajshahi, a city in northern Bangladesh, is the oldest school in the country. History After completing MA in Phi ...
and is very near the famous Barendra Museum.


History

The origins of the college were in a private English School that had been founded in Rajshahi in 1828 by the concerted efforts of many of the region's most prominent citizens (this school is now known as Rajshahi Collegiate School). In 1836 the school was taken over by the provincial government of Bengal and was converted into a Government Zilla (or District) School. In 1873, again through the concerted efforts and appeals of local citizens, the Zilla School was given the status of an Intermediate College, and F.A. courses were introduced into its curriculum. With further development this college was accorded "first-grade rank" in 1878, which meant that it could teach B.A. courses and be affiliated to the
University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...
. The name "Rajshahi College" came with the first-grade rank in 1878. The year 1881 saw the inauguration of the M. A. classes; B.L. classes were added in 1883. The postgraduate Departments in Arts and in Law continued till 1909 when they were withdrawn because the college could not meet the requirements of the New Regulations of the University of Calcutta which came into force in that year. Starting with only 6 students on the roll in 1873, the college counted 100 in 1878, 200 in 1900, 400 in 1910, 800 in 1920 and no less than 1000 in 1924; there was only one Muslim student at the college in 1873; 5 years later it was still one, but the figure rose to 156 in 1916 and climaxed at 215 in 1924. Subsequently, of course, Muslim numbers rose in the college and after 1947 eventually exceeded the Hindu numbers. Today, in independent Bangladesh, the college has been accorded "University College" status and no longer teaches Higher Secondary or Intermediate courses. Currently, it is part of the National University system of Bangladesh and its curriculum includes only undergraduate and post-graduate courses in a variety of disciplines.


Buildings

The main administrative building (shown in the picture), is a good example of British Indian colonial architecture. Other important older buildings of the colonial period include the Fuller Hostel Biology Building, Chemistry Building, Physics Building, former Muslim Hostel etc. Newer buildings include the Library and Auditorium, an Arts building, both dating from the 1950s and a new Science building, dating from the 1990s.


Rajshahi College and the Language Movement

Immediately after the killing of students in
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
on 21 February 1952 students in Rajshahi College built what is often thought to be the first (but short lived) martyr monument dedicated to the Language Movement. The present monument to the Language Movement dates from 1973. It was built to replace an earlier monument, built in 1969, that was destroyed by Pakistani forces in 1971.


E-Service

E-Service plays an important role to bring momentum, transparency and accountability in government service. To achieve the goals of A-2I Programme of Digital Bangladesh, Rajshahi College has taken some initiatives. There are about 30,000 students pursuing education at HSC, Pass, Honors and Masters levels at Rajshahi College. About 250 teachers are engaged in teaching them and more than 150 other employees support the administration, accounts and all sorts of activities in this college. Frequent change in Principals and weakness in record keeping created serious difficulties in preserving records of essential documents and information of students. Moreover, it is much difficult and a tedious task for the administration to maintain and ensure good governance of the college. Keeping this in mind, Rajshahi College made an effort to establish exclusively a robust basis for the whole institution and started an ICT program in February 2012 with a view to keeping records of all data, information relating to students, teachers, finance and other things as well. Rajshahi College might be the sole institute which dared to manage its all data and information digitally and has become a pioneer institute to do all its jobs online.


Notable alumni and faculty

Highly distinguished alumni and faculty of Rajshahi College include: *
Radhabinod Pal Radhabinod Pal (27 January 1886 – 10 January 1967) was an Indian jurist who was a member of the United Nations' International Law Commission from 1952 to 1966. He was one of three Asian judges appointed to the International Military Tribunal ...
* Khademul Bashar *
Enamul Haque Inam-ul-Haq ( ar, إنعام الحـــق ), meaning ''Gift of the Truth'', is a masculine Islamic given name.). Notable bearers of the name include; Cricketers * Inam-ul-Haq (Lahore cricketer) (born 1943), Pakistani cricketer *Enamul Haque ( ...
, professor from 1948 to 1952 *
Qazi Motahar Hossain Qazi Motahar Hossain (30 July 1897 – 9 October 1981) was a Bangladeshi writer, scientist, statistician, chess player, and journalist. Hossain was a pioneer educationalist of Bangladesh. He did original research in statistics and pioneered i ...
* Hasan Azizul Huq *
Akshay Kumar Maitreya Akshay Kumar Maitreya ( bn, অক্ষয় কুমার মৈত্রেয়) (1 March 1861–10 February 1930) was an Indian historian and social worker from Bengal. Life Maitreya was born in Nadia (now in West Bengal) to Mathu ...
*
Jadunath Sarkar Sir Jadunath Sarkar (10 December 1870 – 19 May 1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty. Academic career Sarkar was born in Karachmaria village in Natore, Bengal to Rajkumar Sarkar, the local Zamindar ...
* Ashrafuddin Ahmad Chowdhury *
Maqbular Rahman Sarkar Maqbular Rahman Sarkar ( bn, মকবুলার রহমান সরকার; 1928–19 May 1985), popularly known as M. R. Sarkar, was a Bangladeshi academic who served as the tenth vice-chancellor of the University of Rajshahi. Early lif ...


Former principals


Former vice principals


References


External links


Rajshahi College Website

Rajshahi College Barta

RC FM RadioGovt. Hazi Muhammad Mohsin College Chattogram
{{Authority control Academic institutions associated with the Bengal Renaissance Colleges affiliated to National University, Bangladesh Educational institutions established in 1873 Colleges in Rajshahi District Universities and colleges in Rajshahi District 1873 establishments in India Education in Rajshahi