Dhaka College () also known as DC is the oldest  educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1205. It offers higher secondary education (HSC). It has Honours and Master's programs as well which are affiliated with the University of Dhaka.

About 

Dhaka College is one of Bangladesh's most important as well as earliest higher-secondary educational institutions. It was established by James Taylor Wise (civil surgeon at Dhaka) in 1835 as an English Seminary School (present Dhaka Collegiate School). Wise organized a local Committee of Public Instruction with the help of district magistrate Grant. The school building was built partly out of public donations on the grounds of an English factory. On 18 July 1841, the school got its approval from the college. On 20 November 1841, the foundation stone of the college was placed and buildings were completed in 1846, with the aid of the Bishop of Calcutta. In the first graduating class there were both Muslim and Hindu students, as well as a number of foreign students, mainly from Armenia and Portugal.

The college was relocated in 1873 to a large building to the east of Victoria Park in order to accommodate the physics and chemistry laboratories. In 1908, it shifted to Curzon Hall while the science departments were housed in the present chemistry building of the University of Dhaka and two new halls were built there as well. In 1921, the college shifted again to the old High Court Building as the University of Dhaka was established there. During the Second World War, it moved to Siddique Bazar in Purana Dhaka. Finally, the college found its own permanent campus on Mirpur Road, Dhanmondi near Dhaka New Market in 1955.

History 
The East India Company and British rule were closely related to the spread of modern education in India. During the rule of the East India Company, they established the Calcutta Madrasah in 1781 for Indians, the 'Sanskrit College' in Varanasi in 1791 and the 'Fort William College' in 1800 for the employees of the East India Company. But through the 'Charter Act-1813', the East India Company was instructed by the British government to focus on the education of Indians. The Charter Act of 1813 was the foundation of modern Indian education. Hindu College was established in 1817. After that, almost two decades passed in various debates about the means and methods of spreading education in India. In 1835, a member of the British Parliament, Lord Mackle, proposed in the 'Minute on Education' that India's education should be in the English language and in the light of European knowledge. As a result, the Governor General of India Lord Bentick proposed the 'Indian Education Act'. In the context of this act and on the recommendation of the 'General Committee of Public Instruction', the first government school in the whole of Bengal was established in Dhaka. Established on 15 July 1835 AD. The school was known as 'English Seminary'. With this school, Dhaka became an important center for the spread of modern education. Later, the Governor General of India, Lord Auckland, presented his famous Minute on Education in 1839, following which the General Committee of Public Instruction proposed to the Governor General in 1840 the establishment of a college in Dhaka. The proposal was approved and on November 20, 1841, Dhaka Central College was established. Dhaka College, one of the main educational institutions of the subcontinent, started its journey with 3 rooms on the second floor of the English Seminary School (now Dhaka Collegiate School) building. The local 'Public Education Committee' bought the land for the college building. On November 20, 1841, Reverend Daniel, Bishop of Calcutta, laid the foundation stone of the college. Colonel Garstein designed the building. The construction of the building was completed in 1946 and on May 25 of that year the students started their new education in the new building. Cambridge University student and Hindu College teacher J. Ireland was appointed the first Principal. Since its inception, Dhaka College has been an important educational institution in Bangladesh for leading the cultural, social and intellectual activities of East Bengal. In 1854, due to Sir Charles Wood's 'Education Dispatch', discipline and coordination was created in Indian modern education. Due to the new educational policy, since 1854 the meritorious students of Dhaka College got the opportunity to study medicine in Calcutta Medical College, the only medical college in the whole of India, and after the establishment of Calcutta University in 1857, Dhaka College was affiliated to it. In the first year, 4 students were sent from Dhaka College to appear in the B.A. examination - although one student appeared in the examination named Deenanath Sen. In this journey of higher education, a separate science building was established in Dhaka College in 1875. After that, Dhaka College became the heart of modern education in East Bengal by providing higher education in philosophy, history, literature, mathematics, law and science - which continued until the establishment of Dhaka University i.e. 1921. In 1903 new infrastructure plans were made for Dhaka College and in 1904 land was acquired and construction work started. On this basis, in 1908 Dhaka College was shifted to Curzon Hall and some related buildings in the new Dhaka which was built around Ramna area after the partition of Bengal. It was here that Dhaka College transformed into a full-fledged residential college in a beautiful natural setting with a separate science building, Dhaka College Hostel for students (first known as Dhaka Hall and now known as Shahidullah Hall), four residences for professors. Dhaka University was already established in 1921. The glorious sacrifice and contribution of Dhaka College to light the life-lamp of Dhaka University is rare in history. In fact, all the movable and immovable properties of Dhaka College, students, teachers, employees, various buildings, libraries, science rooms, books, etc. were given to Dhaka University so that the university could start its academic activities on July 15, 1921. A large amount of college land and campus, hostels and other infrastructure, scientific equipment, various scholarships allotted to meritorious students, etc. were also handed over to Dhaka University. On the other hand, the new campus of Dhaka College is fixed in the old High Court building. One thing to note here, many of today's generation ask, why the road on the east side of Curzon Hall is known as College Road, because this road was named when Curzon Hall was Dhaka College. In 1943, the High Court College building had to be vacated to rehabilitate the wounded soldiers of World War II. Then the college was shifted to Islamic Intermediate College (now Govt. Kabi Nazrul College) located in Luxmibazar. Later, the official and academic activities of the college were conducted in a private building of late Khan Bahadur Abdul Hai located in Siddiq Bazar from Luxmibazar. Apart from this, a few houses were rented and a college hostel was built. In 1955, the journey of Dhaka College started anew with new infrastructure in the present campus. Dhaka College is situated on a land of 18.57 acres, an immense lush green land of natural beauty. In front of it are lovely gardens, lawn tennis and basketball courts. There are 8 hostels and a mosque at the western end. Behind the main building of the college and in front of the hostel are 2 large playgrounds and a pond. College canteen and gymnasium on the banks of the pond. At the east-south end i.e. in front of the main gate are Shaheed Minar, ICT building, Botany building, Principal's residence and a residential building for teachers. Besides, a 10-storey academic building has been newly constructed next to Shaheed Minar. Dhaka College has 19 departments under the faculties of 'Arts and Social Sciences', 'Business Education' and 'Science'. Undergraduate (Honours) and Postgraduate courses are running in all the 19 departments. Noncredit course for post graduate students in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) from 1 August 2010. There are 220 teachers in various departments including Principal, Vice Principal. Many of the working teachers hold PhD and MPhil and other higher degrees. Many famous scholars and educationists have taught in Dhaka College. Many students of Dhaka College have achieved national and international fame for their contributions in their respective fields. The contribution of Dhaka College in national and student movements including language movement, great liberation war is immense. The students and teachers of this college have set a precedent by playing a memorable role in the 1962 anti-people education policy cancellation movement and the 1969 and 1990 popular uprisings. As a successful educational institution in the field of higher secondary and higher education, Dhaka College is proud of its continuous contribution.

Affiliations 
 University of Calcutta (18 July 1857 – 1 July 1921)
 University of Dhaka  (1 July 1921 – 20 October 1992)
 National University, Bangladesh  (21 October 1992 – 15 February 2017)
 University of Dhaka  (16 February 2017 – present)

List of the Principals

Campus 
The library of Dhaka College was established in 1841 at the time of the establishment of the college. It has a collection of around 50,000 books.

Academics 
Dhaka College offers HSC, four years of Honours, and one year of Master's courses in various majors.

Higher Secondary level 
 Science
 Business Studies
 Humanities

Undergraduate and Graduate level 

Faculty of Science
 Botany
 Chemistry
 Geography and Environment
 Mathematics
 Psychology
 Physics
 Statistics
 Zoology
 ICT

Faculty of Arts
 English
 Bengali
 History
 Philosophy
 Islamic History and Culture
 Arabic and Islamic Studies
 Political Science

Faculty of Social Science
 Economics
 Political Science
 Sociology

Faculty of Business Studies
 Management
 Accounting

Notable alumni

Academia and science

Government and politics

Military and diplomacy

Corporate and entrepreneur

Culture and literature

Media, entertainment and sports

Bureaucrat

Notable faculty 
 Ayub Ali, educationist
 Akhtaruzzaman Elias, novelist and short story writer
 Akhtar Imam, educationist
 Iqbal Azeem, poet
 Nurul Haque Miah, professor of chemistry
 Walter Allen Jenkins, 7th vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka
 George Harry Langley, 2nd vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka
 Muhammad Mansuruddin, author, literary critic, essayist, lexicographer
 Mohammad Noman, educationist
 Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Teacher, Politician.
 Shaukat Osman, novelist and short story writer
 Alauddin Al-Azad, poet, novelist, educationist
 Mohammad Rafiq, poet
 Prasanna Kumar Roy, first Indian principal of Presidency College, Kolkata
 Abdullah Abu Sayeed, educationist
 Kazi Abdul Wadud, essayist, critic, dramatist

Gallery

References

External links
Official Website
 Dhaka College Alumni Category

 
Old Dhaka
Academic institutions associated with the Bengal Renaissance
Colleges in Bangladesh
Universities and colleges in Dhaka
1841 establishments in British India
Educational institutions established in 1841
University of Dhaka affiliates