St. Joseph Higher Secondary School and College () , also known as SJSC is a Catholic higher secondary school and college in Asad Gate, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is a mono-ed (boys') school offering education from first grade to university level, averaging 1–50 years of age. The school is a single shift(morning) school with over 10 students.

Established in 1954 as the "St. Joseph English Medium School" in Narinda in the current old part of Dhaka by the Congregation of Holy Cross missionaries, the institution had a General Certificate of Education (GCE) based education structure.

Architecture
Obaidul Quader: An American architect born in Pennsylvania, US. He completed his Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York in 1959 and received Diploma in Tropical Studies from AA School of Architecture, London in 1967. He is a former research professor of architecture at Pratt institute.

Academic identification
Having both primary and secondary education level, this institution also offers higher secondary education from 2001. The secondary level has both science and commerce version. The higher secondary level includes humanities too. All the levels have both Bengali and English language versions, each class having two Bengali and one English version sections. Besides, from the year 2017, it has restarted the English medium section of the school named St. Joseph International School following the Cambridge Curriculum.

Admission
The school section admission goes through three levels; interview, written test and final selection.  Admission into class 3 is held officially, around 2500-6000 competing for around 160-180 seats. Other classes (4-9) may offer admissions if seats are vacant.

The college section usually selects only 600-700 students out of approximately 7000 applicants.

Curriculum
The school follows the National Curriculum of studies. Upon establishment, it was an English Medium Cambridge school. Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the school abridged itself along with the national curriculum. In the year 2004, it introduced the English Version first in grade 6, gradually adding one English version section to each grade.

The school was initially named "St. Joseph High School". In the year 2001 Higher Secondary Education (equivalent to college) had also been introduced in Saint Joseph, changing the name of the institution to "Saint Joseph Higher Secondary School". The school is recognized by the Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The average graduating class from Saint Joseph each year has 160 to 170 students. The secondary level offers S.S.C (equivalent to O level) examinations and the higher secondary level offers H.S.C (equivalent to A level) examinations. The curriculum includes both Bengali and English versions (not to be confused with English Medium). The institution is recognized by the Board of Intermediate and Higher Secondary Educations.

Grades and classes
Instead of Section 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C etc. St. Joseph uses names for its sections of grades. There are three sections for grades 3–10, and there are six sections for grades 11–12. In the school section, each class contains 50-60 students.

(The Italic ones show the English Version Sections.)

Uniform
The uniform consists of white shirt, dark grey trousers and black shoes.

School grounds

Outdoors
The school has a 3.5 acre campus. It has grounds for association football, basketball, cricket, and volleyball, amidst other sports. The school basketball court, built in the 60s and modified in 2008, also serves as a multipurpose auditorium. The main field is used as the football pitch and beside the main ground, the mini field is used as Volleyball court. There are Badminton Courts beside the volleyball court.

Campus and buildings

A composite of two four-storey buildings with a two-storey building in the annex for teachers and office is located in Dhaka City. The four-storey buildings are known as north and south building. The ground floor of the south building serves as a table tennis court. The school has three main entries. The first and the second one serve as the entry for students and teachers, the third one is for official purpose.

Laboratories

Facilities include two computer labs equipped with multimedia projectors, a separate internet lab, two advanced chemistry labs, two physics labs and two biology labs. Of each of the chemistry, physics and biology labs one is used by the secondary students and the other is by higher secondary students.

Library
The library was founded in 1954. It has approximately 10 thousand books and magazines. The library works with the Bishwa Sahitya Kendra and British Council to arrange book reading programs.

Purposes of the campus
The southwest corner of the school holds a small hostel for the brothers of Holycross.
Since 2004, the school has been hosting the national occurrence of Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad.

Achievements
 13 UNSW medal won in 2007

Headmasters and principals
 Jude Costello (1954–1962)
 Gerald Kraeger (1963–1967 and 1969–1972)
 Thomas O'Linn (1967–1969)
 Ralph Baird (1979–1985)
 John Stephen (1985–1987)
 Thomas Moore (1973–1978 and 1987–1988)
 Nicholas Thielman (1987–1989)
 John Rozario (1990–2007) (Ex-Principal Emeritus)
 Leo James Pereira (2007–2011)
 Harold B. Rodrigues (2011–2012)
 Robi Purification (2012–2020)
 Subal Lawrence Rozario (2022-2022)
 Leo James Pereira (2020-2021 and 2022–present) [2nd and 5th Principal]

Past and current faculties
Starting with a handful of American Brothers from Congregation of Holy Cross, the school received the services of a large number of teachers both before and after integrating itself with the secondary education system in Bangladesh. The current faculty consists of 50 Secondary Section teachers, 25 Higher Secondary Section teachers, two counselors, two Prefects of Discipline, two librarians, office staffs, two sports instructors, and individual coaches for the soccer, basketball and cricket teams. Leo James Pereira is the current principal of the school. Victor Bikash D'Rozario and Rocy J. Costa are the current vice-principals of the school.

Extracurricular units
Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities include the Scintilla Science Club, Josephite Debating Club, Josephite Language and Reading Club, Josephite Business Club, Josephite Chess Club, Josephite Eco Earth Club, Josephite Interact Club, Josephite Cultural Forum, Josephite Film & Drama Club, Josephite IT Club, Josephite International Understanding Club.

Scouting
Scouting was introduced in St. Joseph in 1964. Many of the scouts have camped in countries like Australia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Literacy School
St. Joseph runs a Literacy School at its premises in the afternoon to impart free primary education to children around Mohammadpur. This Literacy School was founded in 1978 by Nicolas Thiemann. Students can get free education up to class-V from this school.

Publications
"The Josephite" is the yearbook of St. Joseph published annually to record the activities of the institution all the year round. The contents of the yearly magazine include massages from the Archbishop, Principal, Vice-Principal, Counselor and Students’ Guidance, editor and student editor, photographs of the teachers, photographs of all students (III-XII), photographs of the activities of the students, events and programs, individual writings of the students in both Bengali and English and so on. "The Josephite" is thought to have been first published in 1967 and since then it has been published every year.

Sports and games
Football, cricket, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, chess are the most common sports and games held almost regularly on the ground. St. Joseph has produce players such as Shahriar Nafees (cricketer) and Grand Master Reefat Bin Sattar.

On the annual sports day, a number of traditional track and field events are organised for both the students and teachers. These include long jump, high jump, triple jump, shot put, discus throwing, relay race, 100-metre sprint, 200-metre sprint, 400-metre sprint, 800-metre sprint, 1500-metre sprint, dress as you like and tug-of war.

Notable alumni

Education
 Mohammed Omar Ejaz Rahman, adjunct professor of demography and epidemiology, Harvard 
 Mushfiq Mobarak, professor of economics, Yale University 
 Asif Azam Siddiqi, space historian, currently serves as an assistant professor of history at Fordham University
 Jalal Alamgir, academic and an associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts-Boston

Music
 Tahsan Rahman Khan, Bangladeshi singer, songwriter, actor, composer, model
 Shafin Ahmed, Bangladeshi rock bassist, singer-songwriter, record producer

Sports & Games
 Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer, who plays all formats of the game and also a former Twenty20 International captain for Bangladesh
 Reefat Bin Sattar, Bangladeshi chess grandmaster

Politics
 Anisul Huq (politician), Bangladeshi lawyer and politician who has been the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in the Cabinet of Bangladesh since 2014.
 Andaleeve Rahman is the President of the Bangladesh Jatiya Party, a ex Member of Parliament and the Principal of British School of Law in Dhaka.

Entrepreneur
 Omar Ishrak, chairman of Intel, chairman & CEO of Medtronic
 Mirza Ali Behrouze Ispahani, businessman from the Ispahani family and the chairman of M. M. Ispahani Limited

Others
 Naveed Mahbub, Bangladeshi comedian and columnist
 Khairul Anam Shakil, awarded Ekushey Padak in Music

Alumni association
The alumni of the school have formed the Saint Joseph Old Boys Foundation (SJOBF), which organizes events and programs.

The alumni of the school have formed the Josephites Foundation Canada, a North American foundation that accepts members from all over the world who are Josephites.

References

External links

 Official website
 Directory of Holycross Congregation-run institutions
SJOBA (St. Joseph Old Boys' Association)
 Josephite Batch 89 alumni portal
 Alumni Association

Holy Cross secondary schools
Private colleges in Bangladesh
Catholic secondary schools in Bangladesh
Universities and colleges in Dhaka
Congregations of Holy Cross
Educational institutions established in 1954
Schools in Dhaka
1954 establishments in East Pakistan
Christianity in Dhaka
Catholic schools in Bangladesh
Colleges in Dhaka District
Boys' schools in Bangladesh