Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

located in

Dhanmondi Dhanmondi () is an upscale residential and commercial neighbourhood and a Thanas of Bangladesh, thana (police jurisdiction) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, known for its central location, cultural vibrancy and being home to the country's founding president, ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers

honours Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...

and

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

programs. It also has higher secondary certificate ( HSC). It was affiliated with the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

from February 2017 to January 2025.

History

The

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

were closely related to the spread of modern education in the subcontinent. In 1780, during the

Company rule Company rule in India (also known as the Company Raj, from Hindi , ) refers to regions of the Indian subcontinent under the control of the British East India Company (EIC). The EIC, founded in 1600, established its first trading post in India ...

, the rulers established the Calcutta Madrasah (now Aliah University), and 1791, they established the Sanskrit College in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

for Indians, and the

Fort William College Fort William College (also known as the College of Fort William) was an academy of Orientalism, oriental studies and a centre of learning, founded on 18 August 1800 by Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, Lord Wellesley, then Governor-Gener ...

in 1800 for the employees of the

. Following the passage of the '

Charter Act 1813 The East India Company Act 1813 ( 53 Geo. 3. c. 155), also known as the Charter Act 1813, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that renewed the charter issued to the British East India Company, and continued the Company's rule in ...

', the

was instructed by the British government to focus on the education of Indians. The act was the foundation of modern Indian education. Hindu College (now Presidency University) was established in 1817. Various debates were held about the means and methods of spreading education in India. In 1835, a member of the British Parliament, Lord Macaulay, proposed in the 'Minute on Education' that India's education should be in the English language and in the light of European knowledge. As a result, the Governor General of India Lord Bentinck gave the ' English Education Act' effect. The 'General Committee of Public Instruction'. the then government agency responsible for the country's education system, in a report submitted on 20 April 1835 to Lord Bentinck, recommended to establish schools in major cities under the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

to teach

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

and science. They also recommended to allocate money from the government fund for establishing such schools wherever possible and to start the program from

and

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

. Later, Lord Auckland, the Governor General of India, presented his famous Minute on Education in 1839, following which the General Committee of Public Instruction proposed the establishment of a college in Dhaka to the Governor General in 1840. The proposal was approved on July 18, 1841. On November 20, 1841, Dacca Central College was established.

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

student and Hindu College (now Presidency University) teacher J. Ireland was appointed the first Principal. Dhaka_college_1904

Dhaka College, one of the main educational institutions of the subcontinent, started its journey with 3 rooms on the second floor of the English Seminary School (now Dhaka Collegiate School) building. The local 'Public Education Committee' bought the land for the college building. Colonel Garstin designed the building. On November 20, 1841, Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta, laid the foundation stone of the college at Sadarghat. The construction of the building was completed in 1844 and on May 25, 1844 the students started their education in the new building. In the first graduating class there were both

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

students, as well as a number of foreign students, mainly from

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Since its inception, Dhaka College has been an important educational institution in

for leading the cultural, social and intellectual activities of

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

. It was renamed as Dacca College in 1846. In 1854, due to ' Education Dispatch' of Sir Charles Wood, discipline and coordination was established in Indian modern education. Due to the new educational policy, since 1854 the meritorious students of Dhaka College got the opportunity to study medicine in Calcutta Medical College, the only medical college in the subcontinent that time. After the establishment of

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

in 1857, Dhaka College was affiliated to it. In the first year, 4 students were sent from Dhaka College to appear in the BA examination, although one student appeared in the examination named Deenanath Sen. In 1873, the College was relocated to a spacious building to the east of Victoria Park to accommodate the increased number of students and the physics and chemistry laboratories. In 1875, a separate science building was established and science classes were opened in Dhaka College. Dhaka College became the heart of modern education in

by providing higher education in philosophy, history, literature, mathematics, law and science - which continued until the establishment of Dhaka University in 1921. Dhaka College First Hostel

However, there was no dormitory in Dhaka College until 1880. Though a dormitory was built in 1874, it did not last long. Subsequently, the first dormitory named Rajchandra Hindu Student Hostel was constructed at Shridas Lane, Bangla Bazar for Dhaka College in 1880 with a completely private grant subject to the permission of the government. In 1903 new infrastructure plans were made for Dhaka College and in 1904 land was acquired and construction work started. On February 19, 1904,

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...

inaugurated the construction of Curzon Hall. At a government meeting on May 27, 1904, it was decided to build a modern dormitory for Dhaka College. In 1908, construction of Curzon Hall was completed and Dhaka College was shifted to Curzon Hall and some adhering buildings at Ramna area after the partition of Bengal. The road on the east of Curzon Hall was named as College Road when Dhaka College was here. In March 1908, the construction of Dhaka Hall (now Shahidullah Hall) was completed. Dhaka College transformed into a full-fledged residential college here in a beautiful natural setting with a separate science building, Dhaka Hall (now Shahidullah Hall) for students and four residential buildings for professors. With the beginning of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, its adverse impact on Dhaka College resulted in declination of academic activities and other development works. Even, there were chances of the college buildings being taken over by the military. In July 1920, another college named Dacca Intermediate College was founded comprising the intermediate classes of Dhaka College for strategical reasons. On August 20, 1920, the new college was moved to the then Engineering School (now BUET) campus. Only the remaining BA, BSc, MA and MSc classes were accommodated in Curzon Hall. On July 1, 1921, the

was established. Dhaka College has a glorious contribution and sacrifice for the establishment of the University of Dhaka. A section of Dhaka College was merged with the newly created university. In fact, all the movable and immovable properties of Dhaka College, students, teachers, staffs, employees, books, library, science rooms and various buildings were brought under the university so that the university could start its academic activities on July 15, 1921. A large amount of college land and campus, hostels and other infrastructures, scientific equipment and various scholarships allotted to meritorious students were also handed over to the university. On the other hand, Dhaka College was shifted to the Residence of Lieutenant Governor ( Old High Court Building) and the Engineering School (now BUET) building was made the student hostel of the college. The Engineering School (now BUET) was moved to Secretariat building. In 1943, the High Court College building had to be vacated to rehabilitate the wounded soldiers of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The armed forced occupied the building and used it as a tent. Then the college was shifted temporarily to Islamic Intermediate College (now Kabi Nazrul Govt. College) located in Luxmibazar. Shortly afterwards, the official and academic activities of the college were conducted in a rusty old private building of late Khan Bahadur Abdul Hai located in Siddiq Bazar, adjacent to Fulbaria Station. Apart from this, a few houses were rented and used as college hostel. In 1955, the journey of Dhaka College was started anew with new infrastructures in the present campus at

with a land area of 24 acres. In 1972, undergraduate courses on some subjects were reopened. In 1982, the English spelling of the city was officially changed from Dacca to Dhaka. As a consequence the college was named Dhaka College. During the Ershad period, the college had to relinquish about 6 acres of land. At present, the college is situated on 18.57 acres.

Affiliations

Academics

Dhaka College offers two years of Higher Secondary, four years of Honours and one year of Master's courses in various disciplines.

Higher Secondary course

The college offers higher secondary courses according to the curriculum of

National Curriculum and Textbook Board The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB; ) is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Education (Bangladesh), Ministry of Education in Bangladesh, responsible for the development of curriculums, production and distribution of ...

in three different disciplines. After two years of course, Higher Secondary Certificate examination is held under Dhaka Education Board.

Undergraduate and graduate programs

Undergraduate (honours) and postgraduate (master's) programs are running in 19 departments. A noncredit course for post graduate students in information and communication technology (ICT) was started from 1 August 2010.

Faculty

Dhaka College consists of 20 departments under 4 faculties. There are 200+ teachers in these departments. Many of them hold PhD, MPhil and other higher degrees. Faculty of Arts *

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Islamic Studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

* Bengali * English *

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

Islamic History The history of Islam is believed, by most historians, to have originated with Muhammad's mission in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE, although Muslims regard this time as a return to the original faith passed down by the Abra ...

and

Culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

Faculty of Science *

Botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

* Geography and Environment *

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

Zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

* ICT Faculty of Business Studies *

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

Co-curricular and extracurricular

Dhaka College Psychology Society

Dhaka College Psychology Society was established on 13 May 2024. This society was founded by Md Imon Hossain, Md Akram Hossain, Md Shafimur Rahman, Shipon Kumar Kundu & Naqeebul Khalek Naqeb to make a platform from where students can get mental health support & everything they need for their personal development, like research skills, public speaking, CV writing, abroad study guideline, academic help, personal & career consultant, training on personal development, etc. This society is guided by the teachers of the psychology department, Dhaka College.

BNCC

The activities of the corps first started in Dhaka College under the Indian Territorial Force Act 1920. On March 23, 1979, the then UOTC, BCC and JCC together started the journey under the name of Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC). Bravo Company of 1-BNCC Battalion under Ramna Regiment is headquartered at Dhaka College Platoon. Now, Dhaka College Platoon is in Alpha Company, 1 BNCC Battalion. Cadets are preliminarily selected through written test, physical test and interview and other co-curricular activities from among intermediate and honours students following cadet admission policy every year. Then, the Adjutant of 1-BNCC Battalion himself selects the qualified and smart cadets from among the initially selected ones. Selected cadets receive regular weekly training. This training is attended by platoon captains, other PUOs, military instructors and senior cadets. The Principal and Vice-Principal of the college directly supervise the weekly training program and give orders, advice, guidance and encouragement to make the program more dynamic and accelerated. Dhaka College BNCC group became the best during National Education Week in 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023.

Rover Scout

Dhaka College Rover Scout Group was reorganized in 1972 after the

Liberation War Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

. Then the unit number was 5. This co-educational program continues till date. At present, there are 130 rover squires, 60 in member stage, 20 in training stage and 12 in service stage.

Organizations

* Dhaka College Cultural Club * Dhaka College Psychology Society * Dhaka College English Language Club * Dhaka College Business Club * Red Crescent Youth * Badhan Dhaka College Unit * Dhaka College Debating Society * Dhaka College Journalist Association * Dhaka College Adventure Club * Dhaka College Music School * Bangladesh Open Science Organization * Dhaka College Nature Study Club * Dhaka College Natyamancha * Charon Sanskritik Kendra * Green Voice Dhaka College * Biggan Andolon Mancha * Dhaka College Abritti Sangsad * Dhaka College Career Club * Shaheed Rumi Samshad * Boi Bihongo Dhaka College Unit

Facilities

Library

The library of Dhaka College was established in 1841, the same year the college was founded. With the increase in the number of students and the introduction of new programs, the development of physical infrastructure became essential. In 1876, Acting Principal A. Eubiasc mentioned in a letter to the government that the college needed new classrooms, a library, a hall room, a chemical laboratory, and a large room for physical sciences. In 1904, "Curzon Hall" was constructed with funding from the prince of Bhawal, which was used as a library. In 1908, Dhaka Law College was relocated to Curzon Hall. From 1908 to 1921, the library's collection grew to around 8,000 books. In 2013-14, with the assistance of Dhaka College alumnus Md. Mozammel Haque Bhuiyan, a modern library named ‘Maruf-Sharmin Smriti Library’ was established. However, the library has not seen any development over time. Despite an increase in the number of students, the seating capacity and other facilities have not been expanded. The current college library houses 50,000 books, along with a well-furnished reading room. The library provides academic support to over 200 students every day. Dhaka College Central Library's librarian, Parimal Kumar Biswas, mentioned that students can study in the library from 8 AM to 4 PM, five days a week.

Laboratory

* Physics Lab * Chemistry Lab * Botany Lab * Zoology Lab * Computer Lab

Academic buildings

* Main Building * Red Building/Botany Building * ICT Building/Statistic Building * New Examination Building/Library Building

Others

* Cafeteria * Mosque * Medical Center * Gymnasium * Central Playground * Hall Playground * Lawn Tennis Court * Basketball Court * Pond * Flower garden * Shaheed Minar * Principal's residence * Residential building for Teachers

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Gallery

File:Akhtarujjaman ilias hall.jpg, Akhtarujjaman Elias Hall, Dhaka College File:"Shongkhocil Bus" of DC.jpg, "Shongkhocil Bus" of Dhaka College File:Cafeteria of Dhaka College.jpg, Cafeteria of Dhaka College File:1946 Inter-School Football Champions, Dhaka College.png, Football team of Dhaka College in 1946

References

External links

*
Official Website
* Dhaka College Alumni Category {{authority control Old Dhaka Academic institutions associated with the Bengal Renaissance Colleges in Dhaka District Universities and colleges in Dhaka 1841 establishments in British India Educational institutions established in 1841