Mirzapur Cadet College () is a military high school in Tangail, Bangladesh. Like other cadet colleges in the country, it follows the curriculum prescribed by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) in English medium and emphasizes extracurricular and co-curricular activities.
Mirzapur Cadet College is situated at 90ð9' east longitude and 24ð5.3' north latitude. The Bangshi River flows on the east side of the college and the Barinda River on the south and south-west side. The Footjani River joins with Barinda River at the west side. It is on the edge of Tangail District, and the nearby Kaliakair Upazila in Gazipur District HQ is 3 km from the college. The college is 8 km south of Mirzapur town, 37 km south-east of Tangail city and 58 km north-west of the capital city, Dhaka.
After the establishment of Faujderhat Cadet College in Chittagong district in 1958 and Jhenaidah Cadet College in the Khulna division in October 1963, the foundation of Momenshahi Cadet College (former name of Mirzapur Cadet College) was planned. The objective of the new college was to prepare officers for the Pakistan Army.
The then president of Pakistan Field Marshal Ayub Khan laid the foundation stone of Momenshahi Cadet College at Mirzapur Upazila in the then Mymensingh District (now Tangail district) of Bangladesh on 29 November 1963. The foundation stone is still there on the wall of the main academic building of the college.
Major General Fazle Mukim Khan formally opened the college on 9 January 1965. The first principal was Michael William Pitt.
Academic activities started from that year with intakes in Classes 7, 8 and 9.
After the speech on 7 March, a violent procession by an angry mob entered the college campus on the 8th. Principal Wng Comd, Sulaiman Haider Kayani closed the college and sent all the cadets home. During the independence war, the college was opened in the first week of November 1971 with Mr Wahab as acting Principal.
Each year at thousands of 7th graders compete to earn the 50 seats available. Other cadet colleges were established after the war. Today there are 12 cadet colleges, including three for girls only.
Cadets are enrolled in the seventh grade and continue their study for six years. The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) is the final examination to pass.
Each class generally has fifty students. The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations are administered under direct control of the Board of Education of Dhaka Division. Cadets secure top positions in board examinations each year. In this cadet college student apply for application to study.
In accordance with the National Education Policy, Mirzapur offers only the science and humanities educational sections for the cadets from the 9th grade. However, the cadets are encouraged to study science.
The museum is situated just beside the Arts and crafts and Geography department. Some items are:
The curator is Naina Akhter, Head of the Department of Arts and Crafts.
All cadets take their meals together in the dining hall. There are separate seating facilities for the prefects and the duty master generally known as the "High Table". Five meals are served every day. Dining hall prefect from class 12 nominatated by college authority lead the dining hall.
When the academic activities of the college started on 9 January 1965, there were only two houses - Jinnah (now Fazlul Huq House) and Liaqat (now Suhrawardy House) for students' accommodation. Later Ayub House (now Nazrul House) was constructed to accommodate more students. Points are awarded to houses on the basis of different house competitions. At the end of the year house championship is determined depending on total house points.
There is a central air conditioned mosque where all the cadets say their evening prayers. The cadets also says their Jumma prayer there.
Mirzapur Cadet College has a hospital for cadets and for employees. A full-time doctor from the Army Medical Corps is appointed along with assistants. All the medicines are free of cost. The hospital is open 24 hours to accommodate any special needs.
Critical cases are directly referred to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Saver Cantonment.
The MCC Campus was designed by the architect Mr. Thariani.
The college library is named Shahid Khurshid Smriti Granthagar, after the martyr of the Independence War of Bangladesh who was a cadet of the college. There is a portrait of Khurshid Ali on the wall of the library.
The library has 18,000 books, and daily newspapers and weekly magazines are available.