Sylhet Government Pilot High School

The Sylhet Govt. Pilot High School (সিলেট সরকারি পাইলট উচ্চ বিদ্যালয়) is one of the oldest schools and of Bangladesh as well as the Indian Subcontinent. It is also the first established high school of what is now Bangladesh. Founded in 1836, it is situated in the Kalighat area of Sylhet, on the bank of the Surma River.HistoryIn the 1830s, when the East India Company controlled what is now Bangladesh, the Governor General of India, Lord William Bentinck, tried to promote fluency in English. This was a primary factor for the establishment in 1836 of the Sylhet Government Pilot High School.Official records show that there were 74 students in 1841. Later, when Reverend Prize took over, he converted it into a missionary school and took over as Headmaster. Reverend Prize then handed over the mission to Reverend Jones. In 1897 the Prize Memorial Library was established following a fundraising campaign. After many years, the library merged with the Kendrio Muslim Sahitya Sangsad Library.In 1869 it was renamed Sylhet Government High School and Rai Sahib Durgakumar Basu was appointed Headmaster. The 12th June earthquake of 1897 completely destroyed the school building. Classes were later resumed at a different location, which became the current location of Sylhet Pilot Girls High School.In 1903, Rai Sahib Durga Kumar Basu retired from his government job and Baikunthanath Bhattacharya took over as Headmaster. Another earthquake in 1918 almost totally destroyed the school buildings, but the school resumed in 1919 after reconstruction. Once again the institution suffered a blow in 1926, when a fire burned down everything except the administration building. There was another fire in 1929.