Dhaka Residential Model College


Dhaka Residential Model College , formerly known as Residential Model School, is an autonomous college in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The college offers education for students ranging from third grade to twelfth grade. With over 5000 students, 1,000 of whom reside in its six houses, DRMC is one of the largest residential schools and colleges in the country.
Dhaka Residential Model College is noted for its academic performance and extracurricular activities, having produced many notable alumni including leaders in business, the military and state and national politics as well as senior government officers, scientists and engineers. The government of Bangladesh recognized the school for its strong performance in the Higher Secondary Certificate examination in 2008. The institution was awarded 'Best College' in the 5th National Debate Festival 2010, the largest debate contest in the country by the National Debate Federation Bangladesh. The school quiz team won the championship at the Inter School Quiz Contest 2006, the nationwide school level quiz bowl hosted by Shishu Academy, the national academy for children in Bangladesh.
Dhaka Residential Model College was founded in 1960. The school is the only one in Bangladesh under the direct control of the Ministry of Education, and it continues to enjoy this special status as of 2012. DRMC is one of the most competitive schools in the country. Admissions are based on an entrance examination, medical examination and an interview.

History

Dhaka Residential Model College was established in 1960, in an area of about 60 acre beside Mirpur Road near Sher-e-Bangla Nagor in Dhaka. In 1962, the administration of DRMC was assumed by the provincial government of then East Pakistan. In 1965, the government converted the institution into an autonomous body and its administration was relegated to a board of governors with the Chief Secretary as its chairman. In 1967, the government again took control of the school. At that time, a new board of governors was constituted with the Education Secretary as its Chairman.
The initial purpose of establishing DRMC was to provide education for elite army officers in East Pakistan. The school, and later the college, were modeled after public schools in the United Kingdom, particularly Eton College. The house system was designed to resemble Eton's. After the independence of Bangladesh, a board of governors was appointed with the Education Secretary as its Chairman. Since its inception, the school has been funded through government grants and fees from students. The Board of Governors has been empowered to “frame rules as it deems necessary for the proper functioning of the school”.
The school began with only one study session, known as the Morning shift which operates from 8:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. In March 1993, another session known as the Day shift was added, according to the education expansion policy of the government, to cope with the growing number of students. The day shift session operates from 1:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Measures were taken to build a gymnasium, park, swimming pool, auditorium, mosque, administrative building and residences for the principal, vice-principal and school staff. The school opened eleventh and twelfth grades in 1967. In 1978, another dormitory named Lalon Shah House was built for students in grades 11–12. In 2008, a four-storied house named Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah was built for students of the day shift. As of 2010, the number of non-resident students is substantially larger than that of resident students.

Academics

Dhaka Residential Model College offers both primary and secondary education and emphasizes student discipline in all of their activities. It has laboratories for physics, chemistry, computers, biology, mathematics and geography and a library with more than 20,000 books, journals, newspapers and magazines. The academic year is divided into two terms. In addition to a terminal exam, three class tests are held each term. Students have to sit for the Secondary School Certificate examination at the end of the 10th grade, and the Higher Secondary Certificate at the end of the 12th grade. At the completion of the 5th grade, students have to sit for the Primary Education Completion Exam examination program. Students at the end of the 8th grade have the option to sit for the Junior School Certificate. The school employs about 200 teaching staff and 80 non-teaching staff. The student-teacher ratio is 20:1. Teachers occasionally attend training programs organized by different government institutions. The school had more training workshops for its teachers than any other neighboring cluster of schools in 2000, under the English Language Teaching Improvement Project, which is funded by the British and Bangladeshi governments.
The school operates on two different schedules. Students can opt for either of the schedules right before their enrollment. Each schedule includes seven periods and a 30-minute break for lunch. Students are provided with snacks by the school. The school is a closed campus; students are not allowed to leave school grounds during school hours.

Admission

Although Dhaka Residential Model College operates from the 3rd through the 12th grade, it only admits students into the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 11th grades. As a result, the higher grades have fewer students than the lower grades, as a relatively large number of students transfer out. Admission in the 3rd and 9th grades are based on admission tests. The admission tests for DRMC are highly competitive. Students in these grades are admitted through written and viva voce tests for both the morning and day shifts. Students who pass the written test have to qualify in the viva exam. In addition to written and viva tests, candidates have to go through a medical examination as well.
Admission to the 11th grade is determined by a student's grade point average in the SSC examination. Many students with the highest grades in the SSC compete for admission as the school has limited enrollment in every grade.

Curriculum

Dhaka Residential Model College's curriculum includes traditional primary, secondary and intermediate level academic subjects. Students of primary classes take academic core subjects including Bengali, English, mathematics, social science, general science, arts and crafts, religion and physical science. Students have to take agricultural science after completing their primary education. Students of the secondary level have to elect one of the three major programs: Arts and Humanities; Business Studies; and Science. Students of the intermediate level, have to select one of the three major programs as well. Students have some compulsory subjects and some optional subjects in each of the programs.

Academic performance

The SSC and HSC examinations are conducted by the Board of Secondary and Intermediate Education under the Ministry of Education. SSC is the diploma awarded for the completion of grades one to ten, which is equivalent to the O Levels in the UK. HSC is the high school diploma which is equivalent to the high school diploma in the United States that is given after the completion of Grade 12, and the A Levels in the UK. The SSC examination consists of eleven subjects totaling 1,100 marks, with each subject given 100 marks, including lab tests for science subjects. A minimum of 33 marks is required to pass each subject. Subjects will depend on which major program a student has elected to study. These major programs are Sciences; Arts and Humanities; and Commerce. Students have to select one of these three programs just before enrollment in the 9th grade for SSC, and again in the 11th grade for HSC. The HSC examination consists of six subjects totaling 1,200 marks, with each subject providing 200 marks, including lab tests for science subjects. The minimum number of marks required to pass each subject is 66. The results of both the exams are published in the form of a GPA. The highest score is GPA-5. The Dhaka Education Board annually ranks schools and colleges from across the country in terms of GPA-5 scorers. Although as per the declaration of the Government of Bangladesh the grading system will be changed to GPA system where the highest score will be GPA 4.0.
DRMC has generally remained among the top ranked schools and colleges of Bangladesh since its inception. The Ministry of Education awarded the institution in 2008 for brilliant performance in the HSC examination.
Dhaka Residential Model College's results from 2005 to 2019 for the Secondary School Certificate level examinations are as follows:

YearNumber of ExamineesNumber of Passed StudentsPass PercentageObtained GPA-5RankingReference
200529028899.3%1318th
200631131099.7%1906th
200730930899.67%1786th
2008313313100%2698th
2009300300100%26810th
2010371371100%3322nd
2011383383100%3324th
2012382382100%3205th
2013487487100%3754th
2014467467100%4316th
201650750699.80%410
201753553399.62%424
201849449299.60%376
201950750499.41%363

Performances in the Higher Secondary Certificate examinations from 2005 to 2017 are as follows:

YearNumber of ExamineesNumber of Passed StudentsPass PercentageObtained GPA-5RankingReference
200541040999.75%1317th
200648147899.37%1346th
200743643098.62%19310th
200843643499.54%2326th
200946045799.35%2178th
201063463299.68%3091st
201164364299.84%3509th
2012720720100%5026th
201366266099.70%4874th
201466266099.70%48716th
201585284999.65%465
201686886799.89%589
201787887799.89%465
201888588299.66%223
2019927925
466		---

Campus

Dhaka Residential Model College is located on a 52 acre of green field. The campus is in northwest Dhaka at Mirpur Road, just opposite the official residence of the Prime Minister. With 20 buildings, six of which are dormitories, it is one of the largest residential colleges in the country. The campus consists of dormitories, eight teachers' quarters, individual residences for the principal and vice-principal, staff quarters, a mosque, five basketball courts, several volleyball courts, a laundry shop, an auditorium, an administrative building, eight full-size football fields and an infirmary. The infirmary, which houses 20 beds, has arrangements for the treatment of common diseases and necessary vaccinations. It is headed by two doctors and has several pharmacists. The school has its own water-pump for the water supply of the college.
In total, the college has 15 fields and playgrounds. Three buildings known as Academic Buildings are used for academic purposes. Academic Building 1, for ninth grade through to twelfth grade, is located at the northeast side; Academic Building 2, for third grade through to the eighth grade, is located at southeast corner of the campus. Academic Building 3 is newly opened and started organizing classes and exams in limit. A monument has been built in front of Academic Building 1 to commemorate those killed during the Bengali Language Movement demonstrations of 1952. The Language Movement was a political effort in East Pakistan, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as an official language of Pakistan. This campus also has a big Banyan Tree known as 'Bot Tola', which is in front of Academic Building 2. Every year 'Annual Cultural Week' is held there.

Extracurricular activities

Due to the size of the college, extracurricular activities offered at Dhaka Residential Model College are many and varied, and are a major feature of DRMC. In addition to established sports, the college also has clubs for debate, science and culture. It also has Boy Scout troops. Students participate in different programs and contests like debating contests, art competitions, music, sports and athletics, essay writing, performing arts, quizzes, science fairs; math, chemistry, physics and astronomy Olympiads; and other extracurricular activities at both national and international levels.

Sports

Among the outdoor games, football and cricket are the most popular. Cricket is played in winter while football in summer. DRMC has teams for football, cricket, volleyball, hockey and basketball that participate in national and regional games. The DRMC football team reached the finals and became runner-up in the first-ever Inter-School Football Tournament 2003; one of its players won the Man of the Match trophy. The team won the championship in the Inter-School Football Competition in 2006. DRMC also hosts many tournaments on its grounds. Within the college, teams from the houses take part in annual football, cricket, basketball and volleyball tournaments. It also holds indoor game tournaments such as table tennis and chess.

Quiz bowl

DRMC students actively take part in various quiz bowls. The DRMC quiz team became champions in a competition organized by Bangladesh Television in 2001. Among 50 competing schools, the DRMC team won first place by defeating Viqarunnisa Noon School. DRMC students, who have done well in many quiz bowls since 2001, won championships in the quiz contest at Notre Dame College Science Festival 2002, Standard Chartered-Prothom Alo 14th Inter College Quiz Contest hosted by the National Defence College, India, 28th National Science & IT Week 2005, Inter-School Quiz Contest 2006 hosted by Shishu Academy and BCSIR Science Fair, the national level science fair hosted annually by the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. DRMC quiz team 'Platinum' became champion in The HSBC Prothom Alo Language Competition in 2005 both at the regional and national level.
DRMC quiz team 'BOMARU' secured the championship in the National Inter-School quiz competition organized by Bangladesh Shishu Academy in 2009. DRMC quiz team became champion in 2017 'Quiz Quiz, an interschool quiz competition organized by Bangladesh Television.

Publications

DRMC publishes a magazine annually, Shandipan, containing school-related news, poems, articles, stories, science fiction, jokes and other items of interest, written by the students, teachers and staff. The magazine reflects the creativity of the college, and provides an opportunity for students to express their thoughts. In addition, the college publishes supplements and souvenirs on the occasion of special functions and events such as the science fair and debate festival.

Notable alumni