Saint Joseph Higher Secondary School (Dhaka) - History

History

On March 19, 1954, Brother Jude opened the door of 16 Monir Hossain Lane for four students to start St. Joseph High School. The classes were taught in the parlour for the first year. The following year, a single storied building was constructed by Brother Andrew at 32, Shah Shaheb Lane, Narinda. In 1960, a second roof was added as the enrollment of the school rose to 269. In 1963, nine years after opening, the school was sufficiently developed to enable to two major accomplishments to take place—both of which was to bring Brother Jude's original idea closer to realization. In October 1964, to accommodate the increasing enrollment, Brother Fulgence, Superior of the Brothers, began work on a new school complex in Mohammadpur. In November of that same year, the first class of boys from St. Joseph sat for the Cambridge Examinations. This group was the first group of many groups to bring honor to the school. In July, 1965, all the classes shifted from Narinda to the Mohammadpur compound. The new school was very modern and quite unfinished. The first classes held here were for adventuresome boys who had to climb over construction materials, bear up with construction noises and brave the elements. But the joy of having new school brought out a new spirit which grew as the school developed. In 1974, the first batch of boys took the SSC Examination and 32 of the 33 boys passed and one of them was placed ninth in the combined merit list. After the liberation and independence of Bangladesh, the school started to grow and develop with the new country. The medium of instruction changed to Bangla and the school registered with Dhaka board. In 1973 the last of the Cambridge groups took their examinations. During the ten years of Cambridge, 233 boys took the overseas examination and 98% passed with over 60% in the first division. Each year brings forth some achievement for the school but for over 59 years, St. Joseph has continued the traditions set by the first pioneers and Brother Jude, Advancing in Wisdom and virtue. St Joseph celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2004 at the school campus.