Sadiq Public School

The Sadiq Public School (SPS) is a college-preparatory boarding school located in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It also takes day pupils. It is one of the largest schools in Pakistan and its area of 451 acres (1.83 km2) makes it both the largest in the country and in continental Asia.

Sadiq Public School
Location
Bahawalpur, Punjab

Pakistan
Coordinates
Information
MottoDo the right, fear no man
EstablishedMarch 04, 1953
FounderNawab of Bahawalpur, Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V
Sister schoolAitchison College Lahore
PrincipalMr. Peter Stevenson Giddens
Area451 acres (1,830,000 m2)
Student Union/AssociationOld Sadiqian's Association
Websitesadiqpublicschool.com

The curriculum includes education from KG[1] to O-level and A-level as well as local board Matriculation/Intermediate. The school has over 1400 boys and 600 girls supported by a staff of about 135.

The foundation stone of the school was laid by Nawab Sadeq Mohammad Khan V on 4 March 1953 and the school started functioning on 18 January 1954.[2]

Modern Era

The modern era of Sadiq, starts from the tenure of Prof. Nauman Ahmed Qureshi, who changed the school primitive atmosphere. He introduced Model United Nations to southern Punjab in the shape of Sadiq MUN, SAMUN.Now the school holds at least 4–5 foreign educational trips a year.

Organization and curriculum

Pupils in each school are divided into houses. Houses promote inter-house competitions and mentorship opportunities.

The Senior school offer four types of diplomas/certifications. One branch is School Certificate/O-level (for grades 9–10) and the Higher Secondary School Certificate/A-level (for grades 11–12).

The other two types are Secondary School Certificate or Matriculation (for grades 9–10) and Higher Secondary School Certificate or Intermediate (for grades 11–12).

Boarding Houses
  • Kamal Pasha House-East Wing - Nursery to Grade 2 - (Junior School)
  • Kamal Pasha House-West Wing - Grades 3 to 5 - (Junior School)
  • Alamgir House-North & South Wings - Grades 6 to 8 - (Preparatory School)
  • Salahuddin House - Senior School Girls all grades 0–12 - (Senior School)
  • Mehmood House - Grades 9,10,11 & 12 - (Senior School)
  • Abbas House - Grades 9,10,11 & 12 - (Senior school)

Principals

At the start the school had 37 children and seven teachers. Mr. Khan Anwar Sikandar Khan was Principal for over 18 years. For his services in the field of education he was decorated with Sitara-i-Khidmat. On his retirement, Mr. Abu Zafar Haneef who was the vice-principal took over, in March 1972.

The next two principals were Col (Retd) Zahoor ul Haq from 1977 to 1990 and Sqn Ldr. (Retd.) Agha Khalil Ahmad from 1990 to 2001.

Prof. Mohammad Asif Malik took over charge as Principal in September 2002. He is a recipient of the President's Award of Pride of Performance for services in the field of education.

Maj. (R) Syed Munir Ahmad, an Old Sadiqian, took the charge as 6th Principal of Sadiq Public School Bahawalpur in November 2007, after the departure of Prof. Mohammad Asif Malik to Chand Bagh School Muridke as a Principal. Major (R) Syed Munir Ahmad had served in Shell Pakistan Limited as Country Manager before taking the office of Principal Sadiq Public School. He was the first Principal of Sadiq Public School who was also an old Sadiqian (left school in 1966). He was a Member of the Executive Committee OSA (Old Sadiqians Association) Islamabad.

Prof.Dr.Saleem Raza Chaudhry took charge as 7th Principal of Sadiq Public School on the orders of Governor Punjab Sardar Latif Khosa in August 2012. He had served in many public schools including Aitchison College Lahore. Before taking charge of Principal Sadiq Public School Bahawalpur he was Principal at Divisional Model College Faisalabad and Divisional Public School Faisalabad.

Prof. Abdullah Shah, who at the time was serving as vice-principal of Sadiq, was appointed interim-principal. Unfortunately the school went through a difficult period during his supervision as he gained disapproval with parents because of the decision of fee increase (although this was reversed in a lawsuit filed by the parents) and there were several reports of conflicts with faculty and staff members. Allegedly due to political reasons, several office holding staff members were swapped or replaced.[3][4] The school faced a crisis of mismanagement and degrading academic performance and unfortunately he was replaced soon as well.

Prof. Nauman Ahmed Qureshi took charge as the 8th principal of Sadiq in July 2014. He was a former teacher of the school. During his tenure, school buildings were renovated and the school was rated as among Pakistan's top schools.[5]

In June 2017, Mr Mian Muhammad Ahmed, the sitting vice-principal of the School took charge as the acting principal.

In May 2019, Governor of Pujab, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar commissioned Sir Peter Steve Giddens, a New-Zealander, as the principal of the very institute.

Girls Section

The new campus was completed in 2004 and classes commenced in October, the same year. Separate boarding houses have been built for girls. In 2006 Salahuddin House (SDH) was converted into a hostel for girls.

Information Technology Center

An IT Centre has been established adjacent to the senior school academic block. Labs are equipped with computer workstations.

Administration
Al-Maktoum Library

Administratively, the school is governed by a Board of Governors with the Governor of the Punjab as its president. District Co-ordination Officer, Bahawalpur and Principal of the school are members of the board along with the GOC 35th Division, Bahawalpur. Six to eight Old-Sadiqians sit as members of the Board for a period of three years. The day-to-day administration is entrusted to the Principal, managed by the Executive Committee with the General Officer Commanding 35 Division as its Chairman.

Hospital

The hospital at Sadiq is fully equipped with modern machinery and with an Ambulance with 24 hours services.

Facilities
Cricket pavilion
  • Education
    • Boarding Houses
    • Science Labs
    • IT (Information Technology) Center
    • Audio visual aids
    • Electronic Lab
    • Libraries
    • Amphitheater
  • Sports
    • Swimming pools
    • Squash courts
    • Tennis courts
    • Badminton courts
    • Basketball courts
    • Volleyball courts
    • Gymnasium
    • Sports fields
  • General
    • Guest houses for parents/wards
    • Mosque
    • Hospital (with ambulance service)
    • Canteen, general store, tailor shops, shoe store, Post Office, ice-cream/drinks parlor, bakery, fruit shop
    • Telephone exchange (EPABX)
    • Auditorium

Notable alumni

As of January 18, 2004, some 30 old-students of the School were sitting in the Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies.

SADIQ has provided sitting Chairman of the Senate, Gen. Mateen Ahmed (Tamgh-e-Jurat, Medal of Honour) Chief Minister of Sindh, Federal and Provincial ministers, two serving Lieutenant Generals, four serving ambassadors, bureaucrats, industrialists, scientists and two former national cricket team captains namely Rameez Raja and Waqar Younis.

Notable alumni include:

See also

References
  1. http://www.sps.edu.pk/user/admissionpolicy.aspx
  2. Mohsin, Baqaul; M Afzaal, Hameed (2013-05-25). "Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan V, A great reformer and Mohsin-e-Pakistan". The Nation. Retrieved 2018-04-24. In his efforts for the dissemination of education he readily spent the resources of the state and launched a number of educational institutions all over the state including the exclusive Sadiq Public School, Bahawalpur and when the first college of Bahawalpur, Sadiq Egerton College was founded, the college education was being provided only in Lahore and Delhi.
  3. "Sadiq Official News Bulletin Issue 01" (PDF). Sadiq Public School Official. p. 6.
  4. "Sadiq News Bulletin Issue 04" (PDF). Sadiq Public School Official Website. p. 6.
  5. https://nation.com.pk/07-Dec-2017/save-sadiq-public-school-bahawalpur
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