An extraordinary school for less fortunate kids

Quantum Cosmo School and College is accommodating orphans and less privileged children in south-eastern Bandarban.

The school is providing the kids from 22 ethnic groups of the hills and plains with free-education and accommodation.

The children in the residential education facility get all modern facilities and they are being reared up at a green environment. Apart from regular education, the school emphasizes sound mental health and cultural learning of its students.

Students here also receive religious education according to their religions. The Quantum School has already achieved many national and international prizes in recognition of the distinctive initiative.          

Under Quantum Foundation, the school began its journey at remote Lama upazila, 40 kilometers away from Bandarban district headquarters, in 2001 with only seven students.

The outstanding excellence of the first batch students stunned the founder. The authorities started to believe that the marginalized and unprivileged kids also can excel if they are provided with enough facilities and proper guidance.

TBS Photo

From seven to 2000

In 2001, the school had bamboo-made shacks and there was no electricity. The only route from the district town to the school was not commutable.          

The remote locality is now abuzz with 2000 students. The school on 350 acres of land has playgrounds, dormitories, gymnasium, medication center and separate prayer halls.        

Six dormitories were built separately for boys and girls. From nursery to college level, Quantum School and College has nearly 500 female students.    

Healthy living for active lifestyle

The students are provided with a healthy diet chart. Each student eat green grams at morning. The common menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner is dal, vegetables, fish or meat and eggs.      

Seasonal and local fruits like banana or papaya are also on the chart. Newly enrolled children often suffer from malnutrition and receive an extra diet.

Students outshine in sports

Students' participation to sports has brought a number of prizes for the school.   

The students are currently being coached for 28 events including handball, kho kho, archery, kabaddi, table tennis, athletics and gymnastics. Apart from local trainers, foreign coaches are hired to shine up the skills of the students.

The Quantum college section secured silver in the South Asian Games 2019. Quantum students maintained the championship from 2015 to 2018 at the Independence Day display in Dhaka.            

Based on sports training, the school was recognized as Country's Best Education Institution twice in 2017-19.  

Aside from that, Quantum won as many as 77 gold medals from 2013 to 2017 in the National Gymnastics Competition.

Learning own culture

Quantum Cosmo School focuses on cultural learning of the students. The hill tracts students and plain land students learn and practice their respective cultures at the school.        

The school arranges cultural functions regularly featuring numerous performances of the students.   

The higher education torchbearers

Though the school was established with primary and secondary levels of education, it introduced the college section in 2012.

Since then, a number of students pursued higher education after completing the Higher Secondary Certificate examination.

As many as 23 students got enrolled in tertiary education alone in 2018. The students got admitted to the Chattogram University, Dhaka University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology and several medical colleges.

Discipline is the mantra 

Quantum Cosmo School and College strictly maintains discipline. The institution believes discipline is the key for the successes ranging from examination results to sports.  

At the school, each student has to maintain discipline and go through a well-ordered routine.

They wake up at 5 in the morning, and have their breakfast by 7:30 am. They attend their classes from 8 am to 1 pm.   

After lunch, they take a brief rest and play at afternoon. Dinner is served at 6:30 pm and then begin night classes to 9:30 pm. Bedtime snacks are served at 10 pm and they go to bed at 10:30pm.

Films and cultural programmes are screened on Friday. 

Medical facility on school premises  

The school has its own medical facility inside the campus area. A number of doctors remain on-duty round the clock. 

All the students go through regular check-ups. Children are only admitted to the campus hospital if they fall seriously ill.    

First in class, first in life

Quantum Cosmo School does not only emphasize formal education. "We believe in such teaching methods which will rear up a kid with their fullest human potentials," said the institution's Principal Saleh Ahmed.       

He said, "We try our best to tap the potentials from the nursery to the college level. We are not only concerned about advancement of knowledge, but also focus on topics those have relevance to human life, and the students' growth. Therefore, we prioritize cultural activities and sports."

The principal said that students are taught honesty and ethics. They also attend regular classes on mental skill development.  

Students regardless of their classes attend life skill science class at the school. They also mediate once a week.   

Dignitaries who visited the school

Dignitaries who visited the school expressed their satisfaction over the teaching technique. They appreciated the teachers' effort to raise the students strong mentally and physically.     

Bishwa Sahitya Kendra founder Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed, National Professor Anisuzzaman, Barrister M Amirul Islam, National Professor Dr Nurul Islam, Poet Syed Shamsul Haque, cultural activist Kamal Lohani, National Professor Brig (Rtd) Abdul Malik, National Professor Dr MR Khan, Columnist Syed Abul Maksud, Scientist Dr M Shamsher Ali and Mustafa Zaman Abbasi, among other, have visited the school.