Bhubaneswar: The Sainik School in Bhubaneswar, will start admitting girls from the next academic session. A proposal in this regard was cleared by the Centre on Friday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave his nod for the proposal to be implemented across the country following the success of a pilot project in Chhingchhip Sainik School in Mizoram.
“The Raksha Mantri has directed concerned authorities to ensure availability of necessary infrastructure and sufficient female staff in Sainik Schools for smooth implementation of the directive,” a Ministry of Defence statement said.
The statement added that the admission will be carried out in a phased manner.
As reported earlier by Education Bytes, 10 per cent of the seats will be reserved for girls in the first year, which would then be raised to 20 per cent in the next two years.
Several state governments and citizens from various walks of life have for long been demanding enrollment of girls in Sainik Schools.
“While the number of women in the Army, Navy and Air Force has multiplied over the years, there is no reason why girls should be kept away from these schools. This realisation has thankfully transformed into a policy to enroll girls,” a Sainik School teacher in Mizoram was quoted as saying.
Currently, Sainik Schools induct only girls who are daughters of the school staff. The curriculum followed is almost identical to other schools, except that these schools focus more on physical and military-like training activities.
The schools run under the aegis of the Defence Ministry and are funded by the respective state governments.
