Bangla Language and Literary Society, Singapore

About Us

Teaching of Bangla language in Singapore started in late 1980s through the initiatives of some enthusiastic members of the community. It received a boost in 1994 when the government of Singapore recognized Bangla (among four other South Asian minority languages) as a second language to fulfill the requirement of the local education system. In other words, students are now allowed to take Bangla as the second language at PSLE, ‘O’ and ‘A’ level examinations.

 

The Bangla-speaking community in Singapore was delighted with this decision, as it provided an opportunity for the children to learn their mother tongue and preserve their cultural heritage. Later in the same year, Bangla Language and Literary Society (Singapore), BLLS, was officially founded to promote Bangla language and literature as one of its main objectives, and started giving formal lessons to the school-going children of its membership.

 

Since then, BLLS School has been conducting regular language classes. At the beginning, the classes used to be held at Anglo-Chinese Secondary School on Dover Road. The number of students at that time was only 56, and ranged from Primary 1 to Secondary 4 levels. In January 1995, it moved out of the Anglo-Chinese Secondary School and housed itself at the Henderson Secondary School in Queensway. With the re-location of the Henderson Secondary School to its newly built campus at its original site, the BLLS School also moved there.

 

Later thie school is shifted to Gan Eng Seng Secondary School (1 Henderson Road, Singapore 159561) on January 2011. To accomodate 700+ students, School finally shited into two campuses, one in East and another on West of Singapore. Two sprawling campus of the BLLS school now situated at
1) West Spring Secondary School, Bukit Panjang, Singapore
2) Coral Secondary School, Pasir Ris, Singapore

Objective

  • To promote the study and use of Bengali Language
  • To sponsor and promote Bengali literary and cultural activities
  • To provide facilities for and to promote the literary and cultural interests of those with Bengali as their mother tongue.
  • To hold talks, lectures, debates, discussion, symposia or seminars to promote Bengali language and literature.
  • To organise and conduct educational classes subject to compliance with provisions in the relevant statutes.
  • To print, publish, sell or distribute any books, papers, journals for the promotion of the above objects.
  • To accept funds required for the purposes of the Society by the way of donations, gifts etc.
  • To raise funds with approval of relevant authority for the purposes of the Society in such a manner as the Management Committee may think appropriate.