History

BRIEF HISTORY OF TISTA BRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL The history of Tista Bridge High School dates back to the year 1947 when India had finally gained its freedom from the hands of the British Empire. At that time, the literacy rate of the country was a mere 12%. Great Indian leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, however, knew that increasing this literacy rate was the key to socio-economic progress of the nation. Hence, for every Indian, enlightening the torch of education was of utmost priority as it was the biggest step towards nation building. At that time, in Tista, there was no educational institution which could cater to the needs of the young minds. They would have to travel to Kalimpong, which during those times was a difficult task to do due to communication and financial difficulties of the local people. So, the local people would rather choose to stay at home and be illiterate. It was during these exciting times that a few educators in Tista joined hands to fight this challenge of illiteracy and initiated the process for establishing an educational institution in the local level. As a result of their foresight and hard work, Tista Bridge High School was established in 1951. Initially, the school was housed in a rented house, and Mr. S. Chaterjee was the first Headmaster. The following year, in 1952, when Sri Kailashnath Katzu, the then Governor of West Bengal, was on his official visit to Kalimpong, a demand for educational institution was placed before him. The Governor approved to run an M.E. (Middle Education) school up to standard six. Immediately, Late Ratiram Bansilal, a renowned businessman of Kalimpong, came forward and donated his wooden building for the purpose of school. It was then a Managing Committee with the following members was formed to manage the school activity: President: Late Motichand Pradhan (the then S.D.O. of Kalimpong) Vice President: Late Ratiram Bansilal Secretary: Late Pyarelal Moktan Executive members: Bishwesharlal Agrawal, Bajranglal Agrawal, Hariprasad Sharma, M.K. Dhamala etc. The school, however, faced its biggest challenge soon on 4th October 1968, when devastating flood hit Tista and adjoining areas. It washed away the school building along with several other offices and residential houses. The school was on the verge of discontinuation due to the lack of proper infrastructure. However, not losing hope, the local people persisted with their effort to reestablish the school. It was at this juncture that Sri S. M. Tiwari, an assistant teacher, played a vital role for the reestablishment of school, which cannot be forgotten. The location of new school building was changed from Purano Bazar (now Krishnagram) to D.I. Fund, Tista, where a new wooden building was constructed later. The school at this stage was still a Junior High School and a need for recognition up to the High school level was keenly felt. Change of guard took place in 1972 when a new Headmaster, Sri G.P. Chhetri, was appointed. He played a key role in recognizing the institution as a High School in the year 1975 and as Higher Secondary School in the year 2002. During this period, the school also got a new cemented building in place of old wooden structure. At present, the school is being run under the vision and leadership of the Headmaster Sri Tendap Tshering Lepcha. Although the school building has been damaged due to earthquakes and landslides, the school has received assurances from higher authority to reconstruct it as per the requirements.