St Bonaventure's High School (formerly St Bonaventure's Boys' High School) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

primary and secondary school, located on Foujdari Road in

Saddar Saddar (), also known as Saddar Bazaar, is a neighbourhood in Karachi, Pakistan. The locality was developed as the primary commercial district during the period of British-era rule in Karachi. As a result, Saddar contains the large concentratio ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

in the

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The school has another branch in the Hyderabad town of Qasimabad. The school is operated by the

Roman Catholic diocese of Hyderabad The Roman Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad (Lat: ''Dioecesis Hyderabadensis in Pakistan'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan. History The Diocese of Hyderabad was created by the Bulla "Eius in Terris", dat ...

History

In the years between the 1920s and early 1930s the missionary establishments in the southern

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

laid foundations for a school in Hyderabad run by the church to impart education to the masses. It was, however, during the years of the partition and the formation of the nation of

(1945–1948), Archilles Meersman, a parish priest, born to a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

mother and a Belgian father, at the Franciscan seminary at

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, built the new school. With deeply rooted

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

ideologies, Archilles named the school after the saint

Bonaventure of Bagnoregio Bonaventure ( ; ; ; born Giovanni di Fidanza; 1221 – 15 July 1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he also serve ...

. Although some suggest that the school was named after the Rt. Rev. Bonaventure Patrick Pau], former bishop of Hyderabad. It was later given the status of a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

after the partition and was formally called St Bonaventure's High School. The

Catholic Board of Education The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

took charge of the development and running of the school and erected a church in the memory of Saint

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

for his services in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The church and the school buildings are regarded as cultural heritage monuments in Hyderabad. Formerly a

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

al institution, the school was divided into two schools, one for boys and one for girls named St Mary's Convent High School. Running under a Christian administration, the schools imparted education to upper and middle-class students until the 1970s when these were

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with ...

and taken over by the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

government of

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

. When in 1972, all privately owned institutions were nationalised under the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

, most lost their quality and charm. The government administration failed to deliver quality education through these schools. It was not until 1992 that with the change of government the schools were denationalised and the rightful ownership was returned to the Roman Catholic diocese. Most Christian institutions in other parts of the nation were denationalised later on in June 2001. The current principals Mr Bertram DeSouza and Mrs Angela DeSouza were former teachers at the school during the early 1960s and later married, becoming joint principals in the late 1970s.

Qasimabad branch

The school administration expanded its operations in 1990 towards the town of Qasimabad and opened a branch there. Once built, St. Bonaventure's Qasimabad branch became one of the largest schools in the city. With its significant growth in educational services,

Aga Khan University Aga Khan University is a private research university based in Karachi, Pakistan. It is a non-profit institution and an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network. It was founded in 1983 as Pakistan's first private university. Starting in 2000, t ...

extended an offer for affiliation in 2007 for curricular material to be introduced to enable the school to attain the status of a college.

Administration

The school is administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad. The day-to-day affairs and the running of the school are headed by the principal, who is also charged with the recruitment of teachers and staff. Fr. J. B. Todd OFM was first vice-principal and later principal of St Bonaventure's High School from 1958 to 1974. He was also instrumental in starting the school band in 1958. Bertram DeSouza and Angela DeSouza are joint principals. The office superintendent of the school is Mr Benedict Francis.

Activities

Extra-curricular activities are organized annually and include drama, sports, Award Day, Pakistand Independence Day celebrations, and

Eid Milad-un-Nabi The Mawlid () is an annual festival commemorating the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad on the traditional date of 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar. A day central to the traditions of some Sunnis, Mawlid is also ...

. Annual competitions include debating (English, Urdu, Sindhi), elocution (English, Urdu, Sindhi), CSE (AKU-EB Section), science exhibition, singing competition, computer quiz and exhibition, and drawing contest. Based on the performances in academic and extra-curricular activities,

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

are awarded an Honour Flag each month. Student groups include school prefects,

Scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

and

Cub Scouts Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with some Scouting, Scout organizations, for young children, usually between 8 and 12, who are too young to be Scouts and make the Scout Promise. A participant in the program is called a Cub and a gro ...

school band A school band is a group of student musicians who rehearse and perform instrumental music together. A concert band is usually under the direction of one or more conducting, conductors (band directors). A school band consists of woodwind instrum ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

and houses.

History

Qasimabad branch

Administration

Activities

See also

References

Further reading