| Cadet College Petaro | |
|---|---|
| Motto: A Petaro Cadet Does Not Cheat, Lie Or Steal | |
| Location | |
| Petaro, situated about 20 miles (32 km) from Hyderabad, Sindh Province, Pakistan. | |
| Information | |
| Opened | August,1957 at Mirpurkhas August,1959 at Petaro |
| Colour(s) | Red, navy blue and sky blue |
| Demonym | Petarians |
| Area | over 700 acres |
| Principal | Cdre. Muhammad Afzal Malik, PN |
| Number of Houses | 7 |
| Website | |
| http://www.petaro.org | |
Cadet College Petaro is an educational institution from grade 8 to grade 12, in the southern province of Sindh in Pakistan about 20 miles (32 km) from Hyderabad. Its campus occupies over 700 acres (2.8 km²) on the west bank of the Indus River on the road from Hyderabad to Dadu, Larkana and Quetta.
Contents |
The college was founded in August 1957 at Mirpurkhas, Sindh as a residential institution. It was established under the name of Government Cadet College Mirpurkhas. The college came into being due to the efforts of Mr. A.M. Nizamani, the then Director of Education of Hyderabad Region, and sanctioned by Mr. Muhammad Ayub Khuhro, Defence Minister of Pakistan.
The first batch of teachers joined the college on 5th of August 1957 at Mirpurkhas while the college building was still under preparation. These five teachers were Mr. Abdullah Khadim Hussain, Mr. Feroz Yusuf Khan, Mr. Aziz Ahmed Farooqui, Mr. Hasan Masud Zuberi, and Mr. Syed Zahoorul Hasan. While the government had advertised for the position of Principal of the college, Mr. Mohammed Hasnain was appointed as the In Charge (Acting) Principal on August 25, 1957 for the initial few months. He was soon succeeded by Col.(retd) J.H.H. Coombes on March 20, 1958.
The first batch of 30 students joined the college on 27 August 1957 in class VIII.
In 1958, a new site was sought in order to build a permanent campus for the college. A site was chosen at Petaro, a few miles up the river from Jamshoro. The construction of a purpose built campus began almost immediately. Mr. Habib-ur-Rehman, Minister of Education, laid the foundation stone of the college on 16th of January 1959. The initial cost of construction of the buildings of the college sanctioned by the government of West Pakistan was Rs. 2,700,000. The college finally moved to its new premises at Petaro in August 1959. At the time of the move, the River Indus was in flood, and Petaro was also submerged under its waters. The building in Mirpurkhas that originally housed Cadet College Petaro was given over to the Government College Mirpurkhas.
The first principal of the college was Col.(retd) J.H.H. Coombes who retired from the college in 1965. He was followed by Cdr.(retd) Firoz Shah, who remained in charge until 1972. The previous principal was Cdre. M. Abid Saleem (2000-2007).The present principal is Cdre. Muhammad Aslam.
The college is a residential institution for over 900 full-time students at present, providing education from Class 8 to Class 12 (Intermediate). At the time it was first constructed, it was designed to accommodate only 360 students in four houses (or hostels). The capacity was expanded to 570 with the construction of two more houses in the late 1960s.
The year 2007 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the college. Gen. Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan was the chief guest at the Golden Jubilee celebrations on 28 February 2007. On this occasion, President Musharraf announced the formation of a university in the vicinity of the college that will be sponsored by the Metupak Foundation.
The main body of students is admitted each year to Class 8. Until the academic year 1998-99, the college used to admit a small contingent of boys from the rural districts of Sindh to Class 7, to prepare them for competitive success with the new entry into Class 8. However, it was decided by the Board of Governors of the college to discontinue Class 7 from 1999 onwards. All Class 7 Cadets stayed in Shahbaz House. Since the year 2000, Shahbaz house became Full-Fledge, having a similar strength of all Classes like the other houses, and started participating in all Inter-House competitions to compete for the Championship.
College students have normally secured most of the top positions in the competitive Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Hyderabad examinations every year.
The college is subdivided into seven houses.
| Colours | House | Year established | Named after | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Navy blue | Jinnah | 1957 | Muhammad Ali Jinnah | |||
|
|
Red | Liaquat | 1958 | Liaquat Ali Khan | |||
|
|
Brown | Ayub | 1961 | Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan | |||
|
|
Yellow | Latif | 1962 | Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai | |||
|
|
Dark green | Iqbal | 1966 | Allama Muhammad Iqbal | |||
|
|
Purple | Qasim | 1967 | Muhammad Bin Qasim | |||
|
|
Light blue | Shahbaz | 1975 (Class 7), 2000 (Full-Fledge) | Lal Shahbaz Qalandar | |||
Shahbaz House had been created in the year 1975, but only to board Class 7 cadets, who were took in a year early. They were boys mostly from villages, who were taken abroad to be prepared for their up-coming tenure at the college. In the year 2000, the decision to recruit Class 7 students halted, and Shahbaz house became a full fledged house.
In the Year 2007, on the Occasion of Cadet College Petaro's Golden Jubilee, General Pervez Musharraf, who was the Chief Guest on the Occasion, announced that a new house will be constructed, which will be named Musharraf House.
For the first time ever since 1957, a House was declared the Champion house for three consecutive years (Ayub House-2007, 2008 and 2009). To honor their achievement, the Commandant/Principal decided to give the Champions Trophy permanently to the House. The trophy had been passed down within Houses for the Last 50 years. This decision was opposed by cadets of M. B. Qasim house, which subsequently replaced Ayub house as Champions in 2010. However The Commandant turned down the request, stating that the old trophy's permanent home was Ayub House.
The campus is founded near the town Petaro, which is part of the District Jamshoro. The campus is practically a small township with its own electricity, water supply, sewerage, security and other infrastructure. The campus is divided into 4 parts, which are Staff Quarters, Cadets Area, Sports Grounds and College Premises. The college also has a parade ground, which hosts the Adjutant Parade and Principal Parade.
The College is governed by an autonomous Board of Governors, headed by the Commander Karachi (COMKAR) of the Pakistan Navy as it Chairman. Since 1975, the Principal and the Adjutant of the college have been officers of the Pakistan Navy as well. Prior to be handed over to the Pakistan Navy the Pakistan Army was managing affairs and there a Pakistan Army adjutant. The handing over to the Pakistan Navy took place in 1973.
The College is controlled and patronised by the Pakistan Navy. Since 1975, the Principal posted is at least of the rank of a serving Captain of the Navy withexperience of administration. His tenure is normally for 3 years. Likewise the Pakistan Navy provides an Adjutant of the rank of Lieutenant Commander and other training staff like Chief Petty Officers, Petty Officers and Sailors for military training of the cadets. However, the current Adjutant of the college is from Pakistan Army, namely Major Adnan Sharif, an Petarian (95137-IQ).
The College is staffed by 41 teachers (professors, assistant professors and lecturers) who have at least a Master's Degree. There are other officers like the Medical Officer, Administrative Officer, Bursar, Librarian and Office Superintendent. In addition, there are around 215 board employees and over 400 college employees.
| Date | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1957-1958 | Mr. Muhammad Hasnain | (In-charge Principal) |
| 1958-1965 | Col.(R) J.H.H. Coombes | First Full Time Principal |
| 1965-1972 | Cdr.(R) Firoz Shah, PN | Took over after Col. (R) J.H.H Coombes |
| 1972-1975 | Mrs. Syed Shaida Azim | Temporary Principal for 3 years |
| 1975-1980 | Capt.(R) Shukruddin, PN | |
| 1980-1988 | Cdr.(R) Asrar Ullah, PN | |
| 1988-1990 | Capt. M. Amin Khan, PN | |
| 1990-1990 | Mr. M. Akram Bhatti | Took over after the death of Capt. M. Amin Khan, PN |
| 1990-1991 | Mr. Rafiuddin S. Channa | Acting Principal |
| 1991-1994 | Capt. Sajjad Ilahi Malik, PN | |
| 1994-2000 | Cdre.(R) Syed Qamar Raza, PN | |
| 2000-2007 | Cdre. Abid Saleem, PN (kit no. 589/LF) | First Petarian Principal |
| 2007-2010 | Cdre. Muhammad Aslam, PN (kit no. 7179/J) | |
| 2010-Present | Cdre. Muhammad Afzal Malik, PN | (Previously Adjutant 1991-1992) |
All students and ex-students of Cadet College Petaro are known as Petarian.
The most prominent Petarian is Asif Ali Zardari who was elected as President of Pakistan in September 2008.