Feni Girls' Cadet College Explained

Feni Girls' Cadet College
Seal Image:Feni Girls' Cadet College Monogram.svg
Seal Alt:Logo
Seal Size:150px
Motto:Noble Education Decent Life
Motto Translation:বাংলা: মহৎ শিক্ষা শালীন জীবন
Location:Old Airport Feni Municipality, Feni
Coordinates:23.0305°N 91.3957°W
City:Feni
County:Bangladesh
Postcode:3900
Free Text2:Faizul Hasan
Free Label2:First Principal
School Board:Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Chattogram
Free Text3:132276
Free Label3:EIIN
Principal:Group Captain Mohammad Nazmul Haque,
Head:Lieutenant Commander Adiba Ridah, (S), BN
Head Name:Adjutant
Colors: Crystal green
Free Label1:Demonym
Free Text1:Fenian
Language:English

Feni Girls' Cadet College is a military high school for girls, located in Feni Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh.[1] Cadet colleges are autonomous residential institutions that impart an all round education to the young learners at the secondary and higher secondary level. The colleges are under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence and function under the direct supervision of the Adjutant General of the Bangladesh Army.

History

Mymensingh Girls' Cadet College was established in 1984 as the first cadet college for girls in Bangladesh alongside the nine existing cadet colleges for boys. Thereafter, the desire to increase the number of places for girls to promote more equal access to such an education combined with the introduction of commissioning female officers into the Defense Services in 2002 added more impetus to the issue.[2] [3] Finally, the government decided to establish two girls' cadet colleges at Feni and Joypurhat. A portion of an abandoned American airfield (constructed in 1942 during World War II) was chosen as the site for Feni Girls' Cadet College. The MES (Military Engineer Services) started work on the project on 29 June 2004. The student (called a cadet) selection procedure started in December 2005 and a nationwide competitive examination held.

Initially, only a skeleton staff of military and civilian backgrounds were transferred from other cadet colleges while the recruitment process was undertaken. The college received the first batch of newly recruited employees in April 2006. The college opened for teaching on 15 April 2006 with 100 students (cadets),[1] fifty of each from classes VIII and VII. On 7 June 2006 the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia formally opened the college. Ministers, chiefs of three services, senior military and civil officers, elites, college staff and cadets were present. The college started running with basic buildings and services as work continued on enlarging the campus.

Motto

Noble Education Decent Life

Location

The college is located at the Old Airport Area just beside Feni town. The Feni-Chagolnaiya highway passes through the college dividing the campus in half. The main highway of Bangladesh, Dhaka-Chittagong Inter-district highway passes through Feni. Buses usually take 3–4 hours to travel on 165 km highway from Dhaka and about 2.5 hours from Chittagong. Feni is also accessible by train.

Houses

House Named after Motto Symbol Colours blue
Khadiza HouseHazrat KhadijahFaith Honesty Prosperitycandle blue
Ayesha HouseHazrat AishaIntellect be advancedlekhoni (pen) green
Fatima HouseHazrat FatimahEnlightened Life For everSun red

Administration

Central administration

Cadet Colleges function under the Ministry of Defence.[4] The Defence Secretary is the chairman of the Cadet College Governing Council while the Adjutant General, Bangladesh Army is the chairman of the Cadet College Governing Body. The Cadet College Section at the Adjutant General's Branch at Army Headquarters directly controls all the Cadet Colleges.

College administration

The principal of the college may be either a serving military officer of the army rank of Lieutenant Colonel, or navy or air force equivalent, or a senior officer from the Cadet College Service (promoted from the faculty members as per regulation). The vice principal is responsible for academic affairs.

A military officer of the rank of major is posted as the adjutant who is the principal's assistant and is responsible for administrative matters. Senior faculty members appointed as a House Master look after the administration of the Cadet Hostel/ Boarding House. All faculty members are attached to a Houses and are called House Tutors. The accounts officer looks after the matters relating to accounts and budget.

Cadet administration

To build leadership skills and maintain effective cadet administration a set of cadet leaders called Prefects are appointed from the cadets of the most senior class. The cadet administration works under the supervision of the college administration. The appointments are:

Infrastructure

The college is spread over an area of approximately 49.5acres. The buildings are

Academic system

Cadets join in the seventh grade on a six-year course of study. The Higher Secondary Certificate(HSC) is leaving/ matriculation examination all pupils are working towards. Every intake consists of around fifty cadets divided into two groups (called forms) under the supervision of a Form Master. The Form Master is assisted by a Form Prefect selected from the cadets of that form.

The college holds regular internal examinations to assess progress and to prepare them for the Board Examinations.

The parents/guardians are regularly informed of a girls' academic performance and attitude. Additional classes are arranged for struggling students. However, a student showing consistent poor performance will be withdrawn from the college.

The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations are held under the control of the Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, Comilla. All the examination dates are published in the Academic Calendar at the beginning of the academic year. A calendar year is usually divided into three terms. The medium of instruction is English. Special emphasis is given in communicative English, religious studies, general knowledge and current affairs.

The first class of cadets presented for the SSC examinations in 2009 all achieved a GPA 5 (top grade) while 48/50 cadets achieved the designation Golden GPA (top grade with distinction).

Faculty and staff

The vice principal is in charge of the academic section and the faculty. The faculty comprises two academic departments - science and humanities:

In addition, the senior most faculty member of each subject heads the department and supervises the curriculum of the respective subjects. Physical training, drill and musical band lessons are supervised by their respective instructors from the army (noncommissioned officers, usually corporal or sergeant).

College events

Being a boarding school, the cadets stay on campus 24 hours a day. The college can accommodate 300 cadets in total.

The academic year of the college is marked by many different events and Inter-House Competitions. The events encourage confidence and sportsmanship within the cadets. All the various competitions- Academic, Co-Curricular and Extra-Curricular- award house points which go towards the overall Championship Trophy of the year, which is greatly cherished and honoured. This is hotly contested. The notable events of the college are:

College Stage Competition (CSC)

Hobbies clubs/societies

Games and physical activities

Every academic day (Saturday through Thursday) begins with either Physical Training or Drill (military parade) period of 30 mins. Cadets also take part in various games and sports in the afternoon (Saturday through Wednesday) for 50 mins. The college has facilities for handball, volleyball, badminton, cricket and athletics. Annual inter-house competitions are organised in following games and sports:

The schedule of the competitions is circulated through the Calendar of Events at the beginning of the year. The Annual Athletic Competition is the final competition of the year and is held after the end of year examinations. It ends with a grand prize-giving ceremony to which the parents/guardians are invited.

Other competitions

Educational visits, excursions and picnic

Educational visits and excursions are arranged regularly.

Commemoration of national days and special occasions

National Days are observed. Victory Day (16 December) and Independence Day (26 March) start with Flag Raising Ceremony early in the morning. International Mother Language Day (21 February) starts with an early morning procession. Special cultural programs and discussions are organised highlighting the significance of the day. Special Days like Shob i Barat, Eid I Miladun Nabi are observed with special prayer and milad mahfil. College Raising Day is also observed with due enthusiasm.

Parents visiting day and communication with family

The students are permitted to receive visitors once a month on scheduled Fridays during the term. The visit dates are communicated to the parents at the beginning of the year. Cadets can also make phone call to their parents as per a schedule. Letter writing home is compulsory every Friday.

Recreation

Every House has a recreation room with a TV, newspapers, magazines and musical instruments. The House indoor games room has provision for table tennis, carrom, chess and scrabble. Cadets can also pass their time reading books in the House library. On selected Thursdays movie showings are arranged.

Wall Magazine and periodicals

The bilingual Bengali and English 'Wall Magazine' is published regularly as part of inter-house competition. Yearly Bengali and English periodicals named UTTARAN and INTREPID are also published where the cadets can express their mind on varied subjects.

Cultural activities

Cadets are encouraged to participate in cultural activities.Every class presents a cultural night where the officers and faculty members are invited along with family. Houses also present a cultural programme at the end of each term. Music and dance lessons are organised for interested cadets. The creative potential of a novice cadet is discovered through a Talent Show programme. Special occasions (Bengali New Year, Rabindra, Nazrul anniversary etc.) are celebrated through cultural shows and discussion.

Inter Cadet College and national competitions

Feni Girls' Cadet College participated in the Inter-Cadet College Literary and Music Meet (ICCLMM)- 2006 at Pabna Cadet College within a month of its opening and took part in all the events. Cadet Afsana and Cadet Muslima became 2nd and 3rd in modern song and patriotic song respectively.

The college joined ICCLMM-2007 at Comilla Cadet College and displayed a glorious performance in music events and reasonable performance in literature. The college achieved the Runner-Up Trophy in Music losing out to Mymensingh Girls' Cadet College by 0.5 point and came 7th overall. Cadet Muslima sang a superb performance to become champion in the Country song and 2nd in Nazrul Song categories. Cadet Shamima achieved 2nd in Tagore Song. Cadet Rahat Ara and Cadet Nasiba came 3rd in the Extempore Speech Competition in Bengali and English respectively.

At ICCLMM-2008 held at Sylhet Cadet College the college band was 2nd. Cadet Muslima achieved 3rd in Folk Song while Cadet Rahat Ara became 2nd in Classical Song.

The college became Runner Up in first-ever Inter-Girls' Cadet College Sports Meet (IGCCSM) held in 2009 at Joypurhat Girls' Cadet College (JGCC).

Cadet Colleges have a prestigious history in national competitions such as theNational TV Debate Competition (in Bengali), the newly introduced National Parliamentary Debate(in English)on Bangladesh Television and other quiz competitions at national level. Fenians are also working hard and preparing to match the pedigree of their sister cadet colleges

Mess

The College Mess is a large spacious dining hall, which can accommodate 300 cadets at a time and has sufficient facilities required for cooking and service of food, stocking of dry and fresh provisions. The mess functions under the supervision of a member of the teaching staff (faculty member). Cadets are also involved in the management of the mess. A committee is presided over by the Vice Principal and includes both the Officer-In-Charge Cadet Mess and cadet representatives. They make every effort to provide a balanced diet with extra food if required in special cases. All incoming food supplies are checked and certified by the Medical Officer before being received. The cadets eat five meals a day in the Mess.

Cadets are not allowed to eat using their hand. The use of forks and spoons is mandatory. On occasion, a formal dinner is arranged (e.g. farewell of an officer or faculty member, end of term dinner or in honour of a special guest visiting the college) where the officers and faculty members are invited to along with their spouses.

The routine meals of the cadets are:

Medical facilities

A reasonably well-equipped 18-bed hospital functions on campus. It is looked after by the College Medical Officer, a serving Major/Captain from Army Medical Corps assisted by other medical staff. Minor ailments are treated here but for specialized or serious injury or illness the patients are referred to Feni Sadar Hospital/CMH Comilla. To guard against epidemics, vaccinations and inoculations are carried out as and when required. The cadets are weighed, measured and medically checked up and a proper health record is maintained of all cadets.

The hospital also has an isolation ward for the segregation of patients with infectious diseases.

In case a cadet needs an operation, all out efforts are made to inform the parents or guardians. However, if there is no time to inform them, such students are operated upon without any delay. The parents/guardians of cadets are required to submit a written permission for emergency, lifesaving surgery. In case of an emergency the authority rests with the principal.

Notes and References

  1. News: BSS . Khaleda opens girls cadet college in Feni: Allocation for education in budget to be raised . The New Nation . 7 June 2006 . 14 January 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927175742/http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/exec/view.cgi/51/28372 . 27 September 2007 . dead .
  2. News: Bangladeshi women fit to fight . 21 February 2008 . BBC News . Alastair . Lawson . 31 December 2002.
  3. http://www.bangladeshnavy.org/ladytrg.html Training Facilities for Lady Officers in Bangladesh Navy
  4. Responsibilities of Ministry of Defence:responsibility no:11