Sainik Schools to open in Dehradun and Rudrapur

• 07 Sep 2022

Why in News?

• In a meeting chaired by Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Dr. S.S. Sandhu on September 6, 2022, the proposal to open Sainik Schools in Dehradun and Rudrapur in the state was approved. Now it is being sent to the central government for approval.

Key Points

• Education Secretary Ravinath Raman said that it has been proposed to run Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya Vidyalaya in Dehradun and AN Jha Inter College in Rudrapur as Sainik Schools.
• The central government has decided to open 100 Sainik Schools across the country. For this, proposals of schools meeting the standards were sought from the states.
• In Uttarakhand, Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya Vidyalaya, Dehradun and AN Jha Inter College, Rudrapur are meeting almost all the standards for Sainik School. The proposal of both is being prepared and sent to the central government. After the proposal is sent, the Centre's team will inspect the respective schools.
• It is worth mentioning that there is only one Sainik School in Ghodakhal in the state, whose entire operation is done by the Ministry of Defense. However, the exercise of opening a Sainik School in Jakholi of Rudraprayag district has been going on for the last several years. This school was also approved, but due to lack of coordination between the Sainik Welfare and Education Department, the matter of building this school has been stalled for a long time.
• Grd World School at Bhauwala in Dehradun was among the 21 new Sainik Schools approved by the Defence Ministry for the academic session 2022-23, but admission to it has been kept in abeyance on the complaint of the school's recognition.
• There was a delay in sending the proposal from the state due to lack of clarity regarding the standards for opening Sainik School. Earlier it was told that 25 acres of land would be required for this, but later it came to know that Sainik School can also be opened in eight acres of land. After the situation was clarified, its proposal was prepared by the department.
• Grants will be given by the central government to open Sainik Schools in the state. This will enable the necessary resources to be raised. However, departmental officials say that both the selected schools meet all the standards of Sainik School.