Sainik School Sujanpur Tihra among top rankers in sending cadets to Armed Forces

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, February 13

Sainik School Sujanpur Tihra in Himachal Pradesh has not only emerged as the top institute in the region in sending students to the Armed Forces but is also at the second place at the national level over the past six years.

The average percentage of cadets who joined the Armed Forces while studying at the school from the 2016-17 to 2021-22 academic sessions was 20.23 per cent, according to information shared by the Ministry of Defence with Parliament on February 13.

With an average of 27.57 per cent cadets joining the services, Sainik School Ghorakhal near Nainital in Uttarakhand, tops the list of such schools located across the country, the Minister of State for Defence, Ajay Bhatt, said in the Rajya Sabha.

There are 33 Sainik Schools of which eight have been opened from 2017 onwards and, therefore, no cadets of these schools are so far eligible for appearing in examination for the Armed Forces.

There are four Sainik Schools in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. All three states have a strong martial tradition and contribute a significant chunk of manpower to the defence services.

The average number of cadets from Sainik School Kapurthala joining the services over the past six years was 10.08 per cent. Sainik Schools at Kunjpura and Rewari, both in Haryana, sent 17.88 per cent and 7.22 per cent cadets to the Armed Forces, the Ministry’s data showed.

Last week, Sainik School Kapurthala was adjudged the ‘best school’ among all Sainik Schools for 2022, for sending the maximum number of cadets to the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Naval Academy (NA).

Conceived in 1961, Sainik Schools take in students at the level of Class VI and prepare them mentally and physically for entry into the NDA and NA. The total strength of students in Sainik Schools is over 17,000 and their alumni have attained the highest positions in the armed forces as well as the civil society.

Four new Sainik Schools will come up in the region, with two in Haryana and one each in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. These are among 18 new schools that have so far been approved to come up in different parts of the country.

Admission of girl cadets was first started on pilot basis in Sainik School, Chhingchhip, with six girls during the 2018-19 academic year as per a policy promulgated by the Society. Now, all Sainik Schools, including those proposed to be set up, are co-educational with the total strength of girls being 674.

The Sainik School Society, which manages these institutes under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence, has set a target of admitting more than 1,000 girls across all its schools for the academic year, 2023-24.