Bai Virbaijee Soparivala (BVS) Parsi High School is a private school in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Sindh, Pakistan. It opened in 1859 as Karachi Parsi Balak Shalla, by the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

residents of Karachi.

History

* The

residents of

, feeling the need for imparting religious education and knowledge of

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

, opened on 23 May 1859, “The Parsi Balakshala,” or children's school. * In June 1862, Seth Shapurji Hormusji Soparivala was appointed the secretary of the school. In May 1870, Seth Shahpurji Hormusji Soparivala, in memory of his late wife, Bai Virbaiji Soparivala, donated his personal two-story house on Frere Street (valued Rs. 10,000/-), to be used as a coeducation vernacular school. Thereafter, the school was named the Parsi Virbaiji School. The opening ceremony was performed on 24 September 1870, by the Commissioner in Sindh, Sir William Merewether. * On 1 April 1918, the girls' section of the school was separated and commenced to function on the first floor of the building. In June 1919, the girls’ school shifted to its present location of Mama School. * Through the efforts of the managing committee and principal, technical classes were organized in the school, and in June 1946, a technical workshop building began. * In 1947, after the partition of India, on the personal request to the elders of the

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

community by the Quaid-I-Azam, Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the school opened its doors to all Muslim and other non Parsi children of the new nation. * On 23 May 1958, the school began Centenary celebrations and the entire Parsi community participated in the functions that were organized.

Architect

In 1875, Parsi Virbaiji Soparivala School became Bai Virbaiji Soparivala Parsi High School and H. E. Sir Robert Temple, Governor of Bombay, visited the BVS. In 1877, Seth Shahpurji was awarded the "Certificate of Loyalty" by Queen Victoria for his services in the field of education and social sector. In 1904, the construction of the present building started, and, in 1906, BVS shifted to the new building at Victoria Road (now Abdullah Haroon Road). BVS was designed by Moses Somake, the Jewish architect who is perhaps the first known architect of many Karachi buildings.

Notable alumni

Ardeshir Cowasjee Ardeshir Cowasjee (13 April 1926 – 24 November 2012) ( ur, ) was a Pakistani newspaper columnist, social activist, and philanthropist. Belonging from Karachi, his columns regularly appeared in the country's oldest English newspaper, ''D ...

* Irfan Essa *

Bilal Maqsood Bilal Maqsood (Urdu: بلال مقصود) is a Pakistani guitarist, composer, and a founding member of Strings. He has also directed a number of music videos. For Bilal and his band Strings, success came in 1992 after the launch of the song ''S ...

Farooq Sattar Muhammad Farooq Sattar (; born 9 April 1949) is a Pakistani politician who is the founder & former leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, who split it from MQM founder and leader Altaf Hussain, he announced separate faction after rele ...

* Waqar Zaka *

Murtaza Wahab Murtaza Wahab is a Pakistani politician who is the current Adviser to Chief Minister of Sindh on Rules and regulations. He was a member of the Senate of Pakistan from August 2017 to March 2018. Political career On 30 April 2015, he was inducte ...

Faculty

Administration

*Mrs. Mehernaz Bharucha - Principal *Mrs. Kermin Parakh - Advisor to the School *Mrs. Diana Randeria - Headmistress AKU Section *Mrs. Sofia Nasir Ali - Headmistress CAIE Section *Mrs. Parveen Pohwala - Headmistress Primary Section

Office Staff

*Mr. Jamshed Sohrab Black Patel - Administrator *Mr. Naveed Shah - Assistant Administrator

References

External links

*
The Virbaijeeite Alumni Association
Schools in Karachi Educational institutions established in 1859 Cricket grounds in Pakistan Zoroastrianism in Pakistan 1859 establishments in British India {{Pakistan-school-stub