They come in the hordes, hopefuls drawn from different sections of society to become part of education systems that have found their own way of circumventing the banal uselessness of our education system. Yes, there was a time when Dhaka College, Notre Dame and Holy Cross College took in and produced the cream of talent that ideally should have eased into society to make it better.
As a product of Notre Dame, this scribe's deliberations will intentionally concentrate on the heady days of the seventies when the creativity of Uccharan and Azam Khan, Feedback and Maqsood and talented bands such as Windy Side of Care was creating creative culture much frowned upon by the elders. Softer drugs such as Ganja were very much in vogue as was the sudden growth of long hair and bell-bottoms.
Notre Dame authorities didn't fight it. Uniforms were out, restrictions on hair were left out of the equation. This sole purpose, focusing students not just in studies but opening up avenues of creativity that most of us had never had the chance to be involved in. There were no statutory morning prayers to begin the day but otherwise the discipline was stern. Some of the best teachers went about their own way of impacting knowledge, the difference lay in getting students to think rather than memorising facts to be regurgitated. The regular quizzes, unannounced and pretty much to the point, tested the knowledge of the past few weeks and marks were added to the final qualifiers. And no matter your social connections, those marks were the deciding factor.
There were no pushers; nothing was forced. Out of study activities steered in the direction. Of science, debating, set speech clubs ensured outlets of creativity. The sports department was equipped with basketball, cricket and football and the psychological issues were deftly handled by the Director of Guidance fondly referred to as DOG. And perhaps one of the unique features was getting the second year seniors to oversee the practical classes, especially in the sciences where, like it or not, the Full Monty of practicals were gone through. The message was clear. Education was for knowledge and learning, not to merely pass exam. Stragglers had long sessions with the Director of Guidance to probe whether the issue was personal or family related.
Values were given precedence over everything else. So when the girls from Holy Cross came for the debating competitions there was no teasing or catcalling. We were beginning to learn respect for the female gender. During the hot, sultry summer when bored students created their own loud entertainment, the authorities were quick to stamp down on. What, in hindsight, was plain hooliganism. The one outstanding memory that stands out above everything else was the answer given by Father Joseph Piexotto, the then Principal. Egged on by other colleges Holy Cross and Notre Dame were refusing to request for a three-month delay to the HC exams.
"If I agree", he argued "will you do any better than now? Have you not been prepared accordingly?"
The heads shook reluctantly. The riposte was in Bangla, roughly translated "I'd rather all my students pass in the first division than any of them standing (getting a merit position)".
You were right Father. You had taken in a bunch of hooligans that could have gone astray, and turned them into gentlemen for the future.
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