The good scores that students of Catholic schools posted in the secondary school examinations this year back claims by parents and guardians of students who are not Catholics that the schools offer some of the best-quality education in Bangladesh.
Pratibeshi, the national Bangla-language weekly published by the Catholic bishops' Christian Communications Centre, conducted a survey in 20 Catholic-run schools in Dhaka diocese on the results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam. All students throughout the country take this exam when they finish 10th grade.
According to the survey, which Pratibeshi published its July 6-12 edition, 1,961 students in the 20 Catholic-run schools took the exam this year in June. Of these, only 71 failed, giving a pass rate of 96 percent.
"In the context of Bangladesh, this is an excellent result," said Sumon Corraya, the Pratibeshi reporter who conducted the survey.
"This was a very simple survey to know how many students took the SSC exam and how many passed," he explained to UCA News. He pointed out that it did not take into account the religion of the students, but added that the number of Catholics could be "counted on one's fingers."
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This year 1 million students took the SSC exam under nine educational boards in the country and 70.81 percent passed.
The Catholic Church in Bangladesh runs 287 schools and colleges with close to 143,500 students. About 90 percent of the students at the 227 primary schools, 56 high schools and four colleges are not Christians.
UCA News spoke to several students, parents and guardians about their views on Catholic education.
Mohammad Tawhidul Islam, 17, from Holy Cross Brothers-run St. Gregory's High School said he was "proud" of being a "Gregorian." Islam passed the SSC exam with an A-plus, the highest rating category.
"Mission schools are not only good for delivering quality education. They also provide ideal formation for students by nurturing them through extracurricular activities such as inter-school debates, quizzes on general knowledge and cultural activities," he said. The youth added that he dreams of becoming an engineer.
Shamsul Alam, now a medical doctor, similarly lauded the quality of Catholic schooling and said he is aiming to get his nephew, Belalur Rahman, into Notre Dame College, run by Holy Cross priests in Dhaka, after he passes the SSC.
Syeduzzaman Rowshan, who works for the Bangla daily Prothom Alo (first light) in Dhaka, already has his nephew studying at Notre Dame.
"The Christian college provides true education through a systematic and disciplined way," he commented, saying it is politics-free, has strict rules on students' attendance and offers "true formation to be an ideal person."
Holy Cross Sister Shopna Gomes, who assists in the administration of Holy Cross Girls' College, told UCA News: "Our college will take a maximum of 1,200-1,400 girl students who passed this year's SSC. But already 5,500 girls have applied for college admission."
One hopeful Muslim mother, Hafiza Khanam Shudha, was standing in a queue to submit admissions papers for her younger daughter to this college.
She said her elder daughter was studying science at the college with the hope of becoming a doctor. "I want my younger daughter to study commerce at this college, too," she said.
According to Shudha, the college not only provides good formal education, but also teaches discipline and moral education, which she called essential for true human formation.
Robi Dores, a Catholic, said her so
RSS