SPREAD OF MODERN EDUCATION IN BAM: PART -III

Bam Bidyapith High School, Bhagabazar is the junior partner of Bam Nityananda HigherSecondary & Multipurpose School, Dholaibazarin illuminating Bam with modern education. Started as Bhagabazar ME School in 1952, it was elevated to High School with the 1957 batch of Class VI students of the ME School and Astar Ali Laskar of Tundurkandi village,Sonai as single teacher. Mohiuddin Ahmed of Kazidahar, an I.Sc from Cotton College and BA from 1957 batch of G.C. College joined as Head Master in 1958 leaving his service of Cooperative Officer. He was the architect of Bam Bidyapith High School.Shahabuddin Ahmed, the Inspector of School; Cachar guided him in giving shape to this new school. Now a day when Provincialized High Schools are failing to compete with Private High Schools, Bam Bidyapith High School is consistently producing good results recording 91% pass during ten year period from 2007 to 2016 when 942 students appeared in High School Leaving examination and 857 students came out successful. The school recorded 100% pass during five years from 2008 to 2012.This has been possible due to a teachers, students and guardians triangle effect and general interest of Bam people towards modern education.

                                                        BAM BIDYAPITH HIGH SCCHOOL

       The role of Bam Nityananda Higher Secondary &Multipurpose School and Bam Bidyapith High School in shaping the destiny of Bam is immense. These two schools are the ‘Oxford’ and ‘Cambridge’ of Bam; the two universities without which Europe could not have been what it is today. Bam too could not have been what it is today without Bam Nityananda Higher Secondary&Multipurpose School and Bam Bidyapith High School. Education given by these schools over more than half a century has the multiplier effect. Following the footsteps of these two schools other Schools have been set up making secondary education easily accessible to every village student. At present there are  ten other High Schools and one Junior College in Bam which are:Hawaithang HS School, Mujahid Ali High School, Islamabad;Singer Hawar High School,Jamalpur;Dinesh Dev Public High School ,Bidyaratanpur; Radiant Academy (Private English High School) Bhagabazar;Bam Nova Kumar High School,Mahadevpur;B.R.Ambedkar High School ,Channighat;Holy Life High School Bhagabazar;Ideal High School ,Dholai;Mothurapur High School,Jibangram besides M.A.Laskar Jr.College Bhagabazar.Other than local schools the KV Vairengte and Army School Vairengte in Mizoram, just five Km from Bam  are also accessible to students from Bam who want to study in English Medium. However there is no degree college in Bam. After 10+2 level Bam students go to Colleges in Silchar town or Janata college nearer home or MC Das College .Mashad Ali Laskar Junior College, a recognised Junior College with more than 350 students is under consideration for up gradation to Degree College.

                                                      M A Laskar Junior College

Next Section:Roads and Communication of Bam

SPREAD OF MODERN EDUCATION IN BAM-(Part II)

Secondary education took its roots in Bam quite early.Bam Nityananda Multipurpose High School now Higher Secondary School was the first High School of Bam.It started as ME school in 1922 with Manikya Chandra Nath Laskar as founder Head Master (Retd 1960) before its  elevation to High School in 1938. NityaNanda Barman donated Rs.1500.00 (Fifteen hundred)for establishment of the school. The pioneers of the school purchased some land and others also donated land bringing total land to twentfour bighas and school was named after him .Head master Manikhya Chandra Nath, the second graduate of Cachar(as stated by him) was  cast in the model of old world image of a Headmaster. He served the school as Head Master with distinction for thirty eight years,drawing awe and reverence from his students, respect of people and made the Bam Nityananda High School a premier high school of those days producing quality students who would later bring name and fame to school and reputation for Bam

         Some of the alumni of early years of Bam Nityananda Higher Secondary and Multipurpose School are:RajmoniNath BA(Hons),Joint Registrar in Cooperation Department, Government of Assam ;Bani Kanta Sinha,a Wharton PhD and Professor Emeritus IIM Kolkata; Ramkumar Das,MA,PhD, a London School of Economics alumnus , Principal Cotton College and Economic Adviser, Government of Assam;Hironmoy Nath,MSc,Retd. Professor of Physics,Karimganj College; Muslehuddin Choudhury MA, BT, former Principal Sonai N.G Higher Secondary School.Bimal Sinha,MSc,retd Professor,G.C.College;Professor NaliniSinha of NEHU ;Alauddin Choudhury,Deputy Registrar Gauhati High Court;Saadullah Choudhury, MA,BT,Senior Lecturer, District Institute of Education and Training;Biman Behari Sinha MSc,Australia,Sydney, Consultant World Bank ;Paresh Nath,an alumnus of Glasgow University who served in Civil Aviation Department Govt. of India; Binoy Bhushan Sinha,Professor Mathematics, Russia ;Ganendra Chackrabarty,MA,BT,retiredDeputy Director of Education, Tripura;Mahendra Roy, retired Subject Teacher,BNHS& MP School ; Kula Chandra Singha,retired Commander, Indian Navy and retired Additional Director (MM), ONGC;Nanda Mohan Barman ACS;  Dilip Kumar Purkayastha, retired Joint Director of Health Services, Assam ;Karunamoy Nath Laskar,MA,BT retired Vice Principal,BNHS & MP School ;Jatindranath Laskar,MA, BT,Lecturer, Silchar College of Education ;Digendra Chandra Purkayastha,MA,LLB,founder Head Master, Hawaithang High School and ex MLA ;Sushil Kumar Sinha,MA, B.Ed,Principal Silchar College of Education ;Nikhil Baran Das MA,ACS ;   Pulakeshi Sinha,MA,Ex MLA ;Dinendra Purkayastha,Joint Director,Veterianary Department; Dinesh Chandra Nath,Assistant Director,Veterinary Department ;Jay Prasad Goala, MA,BT Subject Teacher of English, BNHS & MP School;   Kalachand Sinha,Subject Teacher of English,BNHS&MP School,Jagadish Nath Engineer;Dr.Ramendra Choudhury,Senior Medical and Health Officer,Dholai Primary Health Centre;Harendra Barman,former Labour    Commissioner;Banka Behari Singha former Director Sericulture ;Suniti Kumar Barman,District Elementary Education Officer; Dr.Harendra Chandra Biswas,Assistant Director Health and Medicine GOI ;Mukul Ranjan Barman, Assistant Director,AIR-Silchar;         Debjyoti Biswas,M.Tech;        Diptendu Paul, MSc ;Surrya Kumar Singha MSc ;Pallabi Choudhury BE;Saurav Choudhury, BE;Binoy Paul-Engineer;Himadri Nath-Engineer;Roshen Ahmed Barbhuiya-Engneer ;Rabijul Ali Laskar,BA,LLB, Advocate.Other alumni followed their seniors in later years.

Spread of Modern Education in Bam to be continued.

Spread of Modern Education in Bam:Part I Modern school education in Bam made its beginning with establishment of lower primary schools, MV and ME Schools in the early years of Bam Settlement. School education in Bam made its debut in 1895  with establishment of three Lower Primary Schools.During this year No.157 Ramprasadpur Thambal LP School was established under Regional Board of Education with  Radha Charan Raha as founder teacher ,No.168 Mahadebpur LP School was founded under Local Board with Girish Das as founder teacher and No. 169 Debipur LP School was established under Local Board with Suryamoni Das as Founder Teacher.After that there was a considerable time gap in setting up next LP School in Bam.It was in 1920 ,No. 157 Hawaithang LP School was established under Local Board with pioneering effort of Sarpanch Masaraf Ali Laskar and  Kalaraja Choudhury as founder  teacher  .But even as it is certain that Kalaraja Choudhury of Rajghat was a teacher in this School there is a question mark regarding his being founder teacher.Next in 1923  came No.174 Bhagabazar Ilias Ali Laskar LP School with Anfar Ali Laskar as founder teacher and  No.175 Bidyaratanpur LP School .

Three vernacular middle schools served the Bam students after primary level. Channighat MV school was established in 1932(According to some source it was 1930)by Head Pandit Sri Mahaendra Chandra Sikdar,a highly respected teacher of his time. Umatara MV School Dholai was established in1939 after the name of Umatara -mother in law of Hiralal Dutta of respectable Dutta family of Dholaibazar.Jamalpur MV School was established in 1942(according to  other source it was 1929) with Bipin Bihari Das as Head Pandit.

Now there are 85 public LP School,12 ME Schools,4 MV Schools, two ME Madrassa in Bam dispensing the lower and upper primary education. In aggregate there is one public LP School per 1100 population.

T o be continued :