Viqarunnisa Noon School and College ( bn, ভিকারুননিসা নূন স্কুল এন্ড কলেজ), also known as VNSC, is an all-girls higher secondary school and college 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 ...

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 ...

. It has 25,000 students at four campuses in the city. It is named after

Viqar un Nisa Noon Begum Viqar un Nisa (also known as Victoria Rekha or ‘Lady Noon’; 1920 – 16 January 2000) was the Spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1957 to 1958. By profession, she was a social worker. She married 7th Pakistani Prime Minis ...

History

The school began as Ramna Preparatory School in 1947. Austrian Pakistani social worker Begum

, wife of the then-governor of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

, Firoz Khan Noon, was impressed when she visited in 1950. With her support the school moved to its current Baily Road location, where it was renamed in her honour. It expanded very soon to a high school and, in 1956, prepared students for the

Senior Cambridge Examination The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations. History India The ...

. In 1978, it started a college section with higher secondary courses.

Campuses

The main campus in Bailey Road covers about 6 acres of land. With growing admissions, the school eventually introduced multiple sections, afternoon shifts, and three branch campuses in Dhaka at

Dhanmondi Dhanmondi ( bn, ধানমন্ডি) is a residential area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, known for its central location, cultural vibrancy and being home to the country's founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The origins of Dhanmondi can be traced back to t ...

Azimpur Azimpur ( bn, আজিমপুর) is an old region in the old part of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. The region is named after Shahzada Azam, son of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Other accounts attribute the name to Azim-us-Shaan, the Nayeb-e-Nazim ...

, and Bashundhara. Dhanmondi Address: ''House No.6, Road No.8, Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka-1205''. Bashundhara Address: ''Road No.6, 181/F, Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka''.

Curriculum

There are English version and Bengali-medium courses of study in three programmes: humanities (only Bengali - medium), science (both English version and Bengali - medium), and business studies (both English version and Bengali - medium). As of 2012, the school had 650 teachers. Enrollment is more than 30,000 students. Only girls are admitted. The school and college section admits students from all branches of the school and from other areas of Bangladesh.

Controversy

Corruption

The

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

removed Principal Faugia Rezwan for allegedly making an "offer" to an official.

Sexual Harassment

A teacher of Viqarunnisa, Parimal Joydhar, sexually assaulted a Class X student and recorded her on his phone. He also threatened her by saying he would release the recordings on the internet. The victim wrote complaints to school authorities, but they did not take any steps. This led to massive criticism and caused protests. The teacher was sentenced to life imprisonment on 25 November 2015.

Suicide of Aritry Odhikari

A ninth grade student, Aritry Odhikari, committed suicide after being insulted by school authorities. This incident received nation-wide attention and sparked protests. Education Minister

Nurul Islam Nahid Nurul Islam Nahid ( bn, নুরুল ইসলাম নাহিদ; born 5 July 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician and author. He served a member of the Bangladeshi parliament from the Sylhet-6 constituency from 15 years, being elected in 1 ...

said the incident was "painful and tragic". A probe by the

found various irregularities within the school administration. Two teachers were indicted by the court. Arrest warrants have been issued against them.

References

External links

* {{Colleges in Dhaka Educational institutions established in 1952 Girls' schools in Bangladesh Schools in Dhaka District 1952 establishments in East Pakistan Viqarunnisa Noon School and College