Don Bosco High School, Guwahati


Don Bosco Senior Secondary School is a school located in Guwahati, Assam. It is a Catholic school founded on the teachings of Saint John Bosco, and is run by the Salesians of Don Bosco.
Started in 1948, Don Bosco is one of the leading private schools in the North-Eastern states. It currently operates 12 standards, divided into primary, middle, senior and senior secondary sections. The school is managed by a Principal, with Vice Principals and Teacher-Coordinators operating under him. The school currently houses 3000 students.

History

Predecessor

Our Lady’s Orphanage, a school for boys of the Assam plains was the predecessor of the current high school. It inaugurated on 24 May 1926, by Rt. Rev. Mgr. Mathias S.C.D.D., Prefect Apostolic of Assam. At the time, a residence and a workshop were constructed. The technical school began in 1928 with 12 students. It then exponentially grew into two large workshops with 200 students by 1938. The name Our Lady’s Orphanage was then changed to Don Bosco Technical School, Guwahati. In 1937, the school operated classes I to IV. During the Second World War, it was taken over by the army in June 1942 and the school was closed.

Current school

In February 1948, at an inaugural ceremony presided over by Dr. Bhubaneswar Barua, the school was formally restarted with an enrollment of 92 students in five classes from III to VII. Mr. Har Mohan Das was the headmaster and the first principal was Rev. Fr. Attilio Colussi.
The opening of Class VIII was approved by the director of public instruction in February 1948. The school was affiliated to Gauhati University in 1951 and its candidates were permitted to appear for matriculation in the year 1952, when 9 out of 12 students of the Tenth Standard appeared and eight succeeded. Mr. Nirmal Kumar Choudhury, former Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University, was one of them. Parts of the school buildings were used by Assam Civil Engineering School prior to 1948 and by Gauhati University in 1948. Public demand in 1958 led to the beginning of the English section from Class VIII with required permission from the University. Class IV, V and VI in the English section started in 1962.
In 1980 the pre-primary and primary sections were opened. With the addition of pre-primary and primary sections, the school rapidly grew in size and status. It was the first school in the North-East to have computer education, an auditorium and sports complex, and a meteorological observatory center. As the 20th century drew to a close, Don Bosco had formed a prominent foothold among the education institutes of the North-East.
The most dramatic changes in the school were seen at the start of the 21st century. Under the leadership of the then headmaster Fr. Joseph M. Thelekkatt, the school management drew up plans for an extension block – known as the Centenary Block – to commemorate 100 years of Don Bosco Society's services in India. The new block comprised both an Academic Section composed of more classrooms and a sports and culture section.
Academically, the primary school curriculum and teaching methods were revamped. The teachers of the primary school underwent several workshops to familiarize them with child centered and activity oriented teaching methods. Further the school sought and obtained affiliation under the central Board of Secondary Education. Since 2006 the school is affiliated to the CBSE board. The first batch of students is scheduled to appear for the Central Board examinations in 2009. The teachers have also been trained to use multimedia teaching aids. The school has created a resource centre in view of providing the campus with WiFi. The school administration software "Campuscare" has automated the school offices, Library and school administration.

Coeducation

Don Bosco School was originally an all-boys school, but has started to move towards coeducation. The senior secondary section already admits both boys and girls. The first batch of female students in the youngest grade of Class I were admitted in 2010 and Don Bosco will be a completely co-ed school by the end of the decade.

Milestones

1922–1953
1954–1987
1988–2002
2003–2005
2006
2008
2009–present

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