# Faujdarhat Cadet College

Faujdarhat Cadet College is a historic public military high school being the first of its kind in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) and second in entire Pakistan, modelled after public schools in the UK (according to the Public Schools Act 1868), run following the national curriculum of Bangladesh in English version, financed partially by the Bangladesh Army, located at Faujdarhat, near Chittagong, in Bangladesh.

## History

Faujdarhat Cadet College was the first cadet college to be established by Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan in erstwhile East Pakistan facing the Bay of Bengal. The government spent 40 lakh taka behind the project and it was opened on 28 April 1958 by Brigadier General Qurban Ali. The classes started with 60 students in the seventh and eighth grade. Two sons of the then Chief Minister of East Pakistan, Ataur Rahman Khan were part of the inaugural cohort of the school. The school was known as East Pakistan Cadet College until 1965, when three new cadet colleges were established. The school boasts an area of 185 acres making it the largest high school in Bangladesh in terms of area. The school was designed by the most prominent artist of Bangladesh, Joynul Abedin.
The following former cadets of Faujdarhat Cadet College made the supreme sacrifice for the country in the Bangladesh Liberation War:
* Major Abdul Khalek, 1st batch
* Captain A. K. M Nurul Absar, 2nd Batch
* Md. Mosharraf Hossain, 3rd batch
* Lieutenant Md. Anwar Hossain, Bir Uttam, 7th batch
* Badiul Alam, Bir Vikram, 7th batch
* Captain Shamsul Huda, 7th batch
* Mufti Muhammad Kased, 8th batch
* Lt. Rafiq Ahmed Sarkar, 10th batch
Besides, the following cadets of Faujdarhat participated in the liberation war, many of whom are titled "freedom fighters":
* Wing Commodore (Retd.) M. Wali Ullah, 1st batch
* Md. Abdur Rob, 2nd Batch
* Colonel (retd) Abu Taher Salahuddin, 4th batch
* Dr. M Mujibur Rahman, Ph.D., 4th Batch
* Lt. General (Retd.) Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim, 5th Batch
* Major Md. Roshan Yazdani Bhuiyan, Deceased, 6th Batch
* Major General Md. Ashraf Hossain, Deceased, 6th Batch
* Kamrul Haque, Veer Vikram, 7th batch
* Qazi Muhammad Ali Anwar, 8th batch
* S. M Iqbal Rashid, 8th batch
* Brigadier General (Retd.) Syed Ahmed, Vir Prateek, 8th Batch
* Major General (retd.) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, 9th batch
* Lt. Colonel (retd.) Mir Mukhlesur Rahman, 9th batch
* Syed Abdur Rashed, 9th batch
* Dr. Azadul Islam, Ph.D., 10th batch
* Dr. Kaiser M. Hamidul Haque, Ph.D., 10th Batch
* Captain (Retd.) Humayun Kabir, Veer Prateek, 10th Batch
* Major General (retd) Imamuzzaman, Veer Vikram, 10th batch
* Ishraq Ahmed, 10th batch
* Major (retd.) Hashmi Mustafa Kamal, 10th batch
* Lt. Colonel (Retd.) Kazi Sajjad A Zaheer, Vir Prateek, 10th Batch
* AFMA Harris, 11th batch
* Major (retd.) Syed Munibur Rahman, 11th batch
* Major (Retd.) Didar Atwar Hussain, 11th Batch
* Major (retd.) Syed Mizanur Rahman, 11th batch
* Dr. Shahriar Huda, Ph.D., 11th batch
* Captain (Retd.) Ahsan Aziz Shelley, 12th Batch
* Brigadier General (Retd.) Md. Abdur Rahim, 12th batch
* M Ibrahim Adil Khan, 12th batch
* Anees Quadri, 13th batch
* Nazrul Kamal, 13th batch
* AKM Shaukat Amin, 13th batch
* Belal Uddin, 13th batch
* Muhammad Abdur Rahim, 14th batch
* Colonel (retd.) Mahmud Rahman Chowdhury, 15th batch
* Lt. General Mollah Fazle Akbar, 15th batch
After independence in 1971, Tofail Ahmed attempted to introduce Awami League's student politics in the school. As he convened a meeting to discuss the prospects with students, senior students of the school boycotted it. The consequences that followed were the enactment of a new policy to convert the four existing cadet colleges to government residential colleges. Cadets from all colleges led by Faujdarhat started "Keep Cadet College Campaign". They met with the then chairman of the cadet college governing body, Brigadier Ziaur Rahman who arranged a meeting for them with M. A. G. Osmani who was then the part of Sheikh Mujib's cabinet. Osmani talked with Prime Minister Sheikh Mujib and convinced him to repeal the new policy.
From 2003, the cadet colleges in Bangladesh were converted to the English version of the National Curriculum.

## Academic system

Faujdarhat Cadet College boards up to 300 boys for grades 7 to 12. Every year, 50 students are admitted to the college at grade 7 through a nationwide admission test composed of written (Bangla, English, Mathematics, General Knowledge), interviews and Medical Examinations.
Cadets are enrolled in class 7 of the Bangladesh National Curriculum and continue their study for six years up to the end of higher secondary or college level (high school in international standard). They follow the English version syllabus of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board. Three national exams are taken by cadets, once in class 8, named Junior School Certificate (JSC), another in class 10, named Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and the high school leaving examination in class 12 known as the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC).
Each class generally has fifty students, divided into two sections which are known as forms. The Junior School Certificate (JSC), Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations are administered under the direct control of the Board of Education of Chittagong Division. Cadets have shown a clear trend of securing top positions in the merit lists of board examinations every year.

## Reunion programs

Being one of the older educational institutions in the country, and with a long list of illustrious alumni, the college maintains a regular cycle of Reunions every 4 years. Usually, the Old Faujians Association (alumni association of the college) organizes this event teamed up with the college authority.

### Reunion 2014

The Reunion in 2014 was a notable event as the Armed Forces also had lent hand in organizing this extravagant 3-day event. The Alumni endowed the college with their support in building new infrastructure and residential facilities as well as carrying out the large event which was held from 25 December to 27 December.

### Diamond Jubilee Reunion (Reunion 2018)

On 18 January 2018, the Old Faujians Association (alumni association of the college) organized an event called Diamond Jubilee Reunion. Chief of Army Staff, General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Haque inaugurated the event. The program lasted for three days. It started on 18 January and ended on 20 January. On the second day of the program, the legendary singer of this subcontinent, Runa Laila performed on the occasion.

## Houses and inter-house competition

There are four buildings to host the cadets, each two-storied. Each of the houses is given a name, a symbol, and a color.
* Rabindra House:
** House Color: Yellow
** House Symbol: Lion
** House Motto: Strike and Strive
** Former Babar House (South House)
* Shahidullah House:
** House Color: Red
** House Symbol: Tiger
** House Motto: We Shall Never Surrender
** Former Akbar House (North House)
* Fazlul Huq House:
** House Color: Green
** House Symbol: Panther
** House Motto: Never Give In
** Former Aurongzeb House(Ayub House)
* Nazrul House:
** House Color: Blue
** House Symbol: Jaguar
** House Motto: They Live Who Dare
** Former Shahjahan House
Usually, each house has 75 students, 12 to 13 from each grade. Students are divided into houses during their initial intake year. Year-round extra and co-curricular competitions and activities are arranged in the broad categories of cultural, sports and gardening competitions, as well as in academics. Based on results from each competition, the houses earn 'points' and the highest scoring house in a year is announced a winner at the end of the year. This enhances the competition and holistic development of all the cadets.

## Dining Hall

The college dining hall is named after its former principal Lt. Col. William Maurice Brown. The dining hall is modeled after the interior of a ship. The dining hall is supervised by a Faculty Member appointed as the Officer-in-Charge Dining Hall And the dining hall is co-operated by a Cadet of grade 12, appointed as The College Dining Hall Prefect. The college dining hall serves meal to the Cadets five times daily. Many ceremonies and farewell dinners are also held in this auspicious dining hall.

## Library

The college library is named 'Birsrestho Abdur Rouf Library.' There are around 20,000 (twenty thousand) books in the library with collections from all around the world. The collection of this college library offers books on language, linguistics, mathematics, religion, literature, arts, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history, computer science, philosophy, psychology, agriculture, statistics and political science. The Library is enriched with valuable reference materials available such as atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, annual reports and publications, survey reports, census reports, country reports, statistical yearbooks, military publications, and audio-visual materials.

## Hospital

Faujdarhat Cadet College has a well-developed hospital. It is named after Birsrestho Nur Mohammad, who was killed in the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The hospital is run by a specialized doctor ranked Major or Captain from the medical corps of the Bangladesh Army. Besides cadets, it provides treatment to employees of all classes along with their families. All kinds of basic and first aid treatments are available. It is well-equipped with pathological tools to diagnose basic diseases. In case of critical diseases and emergency situations, patients are sent to Combined Military Hospital, Chittagong.

## Alumni
### Government and politics

| Name | Notability |
| Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad | Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh Election Commission |
| Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud | Eminent lawyer, Politician, Academician, Former President of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Former Minister and Member of Parliament |
| Hossain Zillur Rahman | Former Advisor, Bangladesh Caretaker Government |
| Imran Ahmad | Politician and Businessman, Minister of People's Republic of Bangladesh |
| Syed Muhammad Ibrahim | Bir Protik, Chairman of Bangladesh Kallyan Party |
| A. J. Mohammad Ali | Former Attorney General of Bangladesh |
| Fazle Kabir | Former Governor of Bangladesh Bank (country's central bank) |

### Military and diplomacy

| Name | Notability |
| Lieutenant General Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim | 8th Chief of Bangladesh Army |
| General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan | 15th Chief of Bangladesh Army |
| Major Gen AMSA Amin | Ambassador to Russia and Brazil |
| Major Gen Mia Mohammad Zainul Abedin | Military Secretary to Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019 |

### Academia and science

| Name | Notability |
| Mohammad Ataul Karim | Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with expertise in electro-optical systems, optical computing, and pattern recognition |
| Gowher Rizvi | The second Bangladeshi Rhodes Scholar. He is a former international affairs adviser to the prime minister of Bangladesh. He taught at University of Oxford and Harvard Kennedy School |
| A. M. M. Safiullah | Vice Chancellor, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology |
| Shafiqul Islam | Professor at Tufts University. Graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. |

### Culture, entertainment and sports

| Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
| Shakoor Majid | | Ekushey Padak, the second-highest state award winner travel novelist | |

## Books published by alumni

* 1. Demography and the Global Business Environment (Alfred Marcus & Mazhar Islam)
* 2. Collected Volume of Statistical Works of Q. M. Husain with Commentaries(Shahariar Huda(Editor) and M. Ataharul Islam (Editor) )
* 3. Kumir Chashir Diary by Mushtaq Ahmed