Sponsored by PIME Sisters, the establishment teaches in English, based on a program increasingly sought after by middle-class families in the capital. The facility will also financially support five other schools in remote villages offering free education to the poor.
January 13, 2022
By Sumon Corraya
Mary Immaculate International School, a new educational institution set up by the Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception (PIME Sisters), opened in Dhaka on Monday.
Located in Monipuripara, in the capital’s Tejagon district, the English-language primary school will follow the Cambridge curriculum, a curriculum increasingly sought after by families in Dhaka.
When the first 10 students arrived, they were welcomed by the teachers and the Sisters who were waiting for them in a welcoming environment.
“Our charism is evangelization,” said Principal Sr. Emanuela D’Costa, speaking to AsiaNews. However, the school will also provide “academic tuition” as well as “moral education to students so that they can grow as individuals and citizens”.
The Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception already run five schools in some of the most remote villages in Bangladesh, providing free education to the poor.
The Mary Immaculate International School in Dhaka charges tuition, but the money will also be used to support the society’s work across the country.
“The tuition at the new school is very reasonable,” explained Sr. Emanuela. “Middle-income families can afford to pay for our school.”
Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze of Dhaka, who also heads the Bangladesh Catholic Education Council, blessed the facility Dec. 20.
The school can accommodate up to 40 students. New students will be able to enroll starting this month.
“We are very happy to have a school of such quality. It is a neat and clean campus; the environment is very good. Children can play here,” said a parent.
“I feel safe and worry free to keep my son in this school,” he explained. He and his wife attended a school run by missionaries and want the same for their children.
The Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception have 12 convents in Bangladesh and 71 local nuns, 15 of whom minister as missionaries in other countries. 15 other sisters come from abroad and are currently living their vocation in Bangladesh.–News from Asia