Convent of Jesus and Mary, Karachi
The Convent of Jesus and Mary, Karachi is a Roman Catholic independent school for girls located in Karachi, Pakistan. It has been accepting boys from Preschool till Class 5, but is an all-girls institution from Class 6 onwards. It is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi. It was built in 1952.[1] Admissions for the school are held around March.
The school is divided into three sections:
- Preschool section—Class Prep 1 to Prep 2 (Age 4-6)
- Junior section—Class 1 to Class 5 (Age 6-11)
- Senior section—Class 6 to Class 11 (Age 11-16)
The school goes by the Cambridge System and is known as one of the most prestigious schools in Karachi. Many parents also prefer sending their children here because of the lack of good all-girls educational institutions in the city. There is a long list of parents waiting for a chance to get their daughter(s) into this school. CJM was started in Karachi with an aim to educate the girls of the clifton area, and has flourished ever since. It is a very well-known school. Many of the students of the school come from elite families and backgrounds. Though it is a Catholic school, majority of the student body is made up of Muslims. There are also Parsis and Hindus.
In addition to schooling the local Christian community, the Convent of Jesus & Mary, Karachi (along with its affiliate schools in Lahore and Murree) has long been Pakistan's most elite all-girls educational institution. CJM has traditionally been run by Irish nuns, and now in recent decades, local nuns as well. It has schooled a countless number of influential women, including Pakistan's first female Prime Minister, other leaders, social workers, activists, professionals, entrepreneurs, writers, entertainers, philanthropists, home-makers, and a countless number of women in the creative arts.
In 2012 Sister John Berchmans Conway was the Principal of the Convent of Jesus & Mary, Karachi. On February 15, 2012, the President of Pakistan approved conferment of Sitara Quaid-e-Azam on Sister Berchmans for her services towards education and promoting interfaith harmony in Pakistan.[2] The government of Sindh presented land in Karachi to the sisters in appreciation of their educational work in the country. Governor Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan of Sindh presented the 99-year lease papers for 1.5 acres of land to the Sisters during a ceremony on 24 September at Government House, Karachi. Sister John Berchmans Conway received the papers on behalf of the sisters.[1]
Houses
Each section of the school is divided into four groups:
- Courtesy (Blue)
- Discipline (Green)
- Endeavor (Red)
- Service (Yellow)
Alumni
- Benazir Bhutto (1953 - 2007),[3] former prime minister of Pakistan.
- Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, two Academy Award-winning filmmaker[4]
- Asma Jehangir, President of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
- Tehmina Janjua, Ambassador of Pakistan to Italy[1]
- Nergis Mavalvala, Pakistani American astrophysicist who is the Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Also part of the team that made the first direct gravitational wave observation.
- Maryam Nawaz Sharif, First Daughter of State
- Hina Rabbani Khar, youngest female Foreign Minister of Pakistan
- Somy Ali, actress, fashion designer, journalist
- Rachel Viccaji, Coke Studio singer
- Sharmeela Farooqui , Political candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
ACES has a newly elected Committee consisting of the alumni of CJM, Pakistan.
Other branches in Pakistan
There are a total of Seven branches of CJM in Pakistan:
- Karachi
- Murree
- Lahore
- Sialkot (built in the 1856)
- Shadbagh
- Toba Tek Singh
- Mariakhel
Official website of CJM Karachi
References
Coordinates: 24°50′25″N 67°02′04″E / 24.8403°N 67.0345°E