Pranab Mukherjee writes his comments about his school during a visit to the institution in October 2012

Kirnahar, (Birbhum), Oct. 6: Pranab Mukherjee’s school in a Birbhum pocket has decided to set up a museum housing the President’s memorabilia, which will include his marksheets, rare photographs as a student and admission papers.

Mukherjee, who, like every year, will visit his hometown in Kirnahar during Puja, will on Thursday inaugurate the museum at Kirnahar Shibchandra High School, where he studied from Classes V to X. Mukherjee passed his Madhyamik from the school in 1952.

Officials said most of the items to be kept in the museum will be given by Mukherjee himself. Souvenirs he got from governments of foreign countries will also find a place.

The President’s school in Kirnahar

According to sources, the decision to set up the museum was taken at a meeting of the school authorities and the President’s son and Congress MP Abhijit Mukherjee. Abhijit has prepared a list of 36 mementos the President will hand over to the school on October 10.

“On October 10 evening, our former student and the President of India will inaugurate the museum. We are setting up the museum in one of the classrooms for now. Later, we will shift it to a new building,” headmaster Nilkamal Banerjee said.

Apart from the President, his elder brother Pijush Mukherjee and father Kamada Kinkar were also students of the Kirnahar school, which was set up in 1895.

“My father is often nostalgic about his school where he spent some of his best days. So he agreed to hand over some of the mementos he received in his long political career. My father has also decided to give his photographs to the school,” Abhijit told The Telegraph.

Apart from his admission papers, marksheets and photographs, the museum will also house souvenirs given by Dhaka University, Turkey and the South African government in 2006 on their Independence Day.

“We hope to get more items later,” said Sadhan Ghosh, a member of the school managing committee and one of the organisers of the museum.

Asked about the President as a student, assistant teacher Arun Roy said: “Pranab Mukherjee has been the most illustrious student of this school. We always remind our students that a President of our country was an alumnus of this school.”