Sibpur Hindu Girls High School

The school was founded by Jadunath Banerjee in 1867. It was located in a rented house in the Sibpur area. Unfortunately, an earthquake destroyed the house in 1869. The general public extended their helping hand and the school was rebuilt.

Initially, the students studied free of cost. Some local philanthropists donated 4 annas to run the school. After a few years, minimum fees of 1 anna and 4 annas were charged for primary and secondary students, respectively. The Howrah Corporation also extended its helping hand by donating Rs 7/- every month until the year 1898. Up until 1925, the largest amount donated was Rs 40/-. Even though progress was visibly poor, these funds preserved the school's freedom and overall mission.

In 1876, the school was moved to a 4-bedroom house for rent on Kshetra Mohan Banerjee Lane. In 1910, the school inspector was dissatisfied with where the school was housed and shifted it to Ananda Kr Roy Chowdhury Lane, where the rent was Rs 1/- per month.

In 1912, the inspector of the school's president was Burdwan and Orissa for our division. Miss Crawford inspected the school and per her satisfaction, government assistance of Rs 60/- was arranged to run the school. But for reasons unknown, the grant was never implemented. So in 1913, a grant of Rs 20 /-per month was arranged, which later went up to Rs 50/-per month.

As the popularity of the school increased, the amount of space to fit all the students became a problem. In 1914, at Sibpur Road, a 3 Kotah land was acquired for an expansion of the school. The school managing committee asked for a onetime aid of Rs 3000/- from the state government. However, since the government provided aid in the First World War, they were not able to help the school out. For 11 years the school functioned from its rented quarters.

In 1930, another 4 Kotahs of land was added to the previously purchased plot of land. In 1932, the construction of the school had finally started. In 1935, the version of the school that can be seen today started to take shape.

In 1952, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education granted aid of Rs 46,247 to construct the building. Another aid of Rs 23,851 /- followed. Almost a decade later, in 1954, an additional 3 Kotahs of land was purchased for Rs 11,580/-. Construction costs were aided with the help of an additional Rs 5788/- from the Board. At this time 22.5 Kotahs of land had been purchased and an additional Rs 30,000/- was given by Madhya Siksha parshad.

In 1959, the West Bengal Government took charge of running the school, providing Rs 50,000/- in financial support.

In the beginning, the school had 6 classes. In 1990, this was reduced to 4 classes. In 1902, the classes were increased to 7. The number of students rose from 168 to 200 in 1913. By 1952, the school introduced the English language into the curriculum. By 1959, the school reached the Madhyamik and later Higher Secondary level. In 1964, the school received permission to open its science department. In 1968, the commerce department was opened at the Hindu Girls’ High School. At the time the school was set up, there were only 2 teachers. During this period in time, the Primary section and Secondary section were functioning separately.

In 1910 and 1914, two new teachers were inducted. In 1946, the well-known and respected Lila De came on as the principal of Shibpur Hindu Girls High School. She had many lasting contributions to the school. Initially, the school started off with a few students. Fewer teachers resulted in fewer students in the school. Gradually things picked up and in 1901 there were around 60 students. In 1912, the number of students increased to 168 and in 1913 it reached 200. In 1952, the school reached an all-time high, when there were a total of 500 students enrolled in the school. As it stands today, the number of enrolled students is around 2500. The success rate in H.S exams in 1964 was 75% and in 1965 it was 80%.[1]