In a first, Mizoram Sainik School admits girl students

GUWAHATI: In a welcome break from tradition, the Sainik School Chhingchhip in Mizoram became the first in the country to admit girls into what had, till now, been a male bastion.

Sainik Schools were established as preparatory schools for entry into the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla, Pune and the Indian Naval Academy. Both institutions have a history of not admitting women. The precedent set by the Sainik School in Mizoram, the youngest of the country's 26 such schools, could pave the way for a change in the rest of the institutions as well.

"History was created on June 4, when six girls joined the Sainik School Chhingchhip, Mizoram in Class VI along with 54 boys. It has now become the first school under the aegis of the Sainik School Society to induct girl cadets," defence public relations officer Colonel C Konwer said.

He added, "On this history-making occasion, school principal Lt Col Inderjeet Singh welcomed the 2018-19 batch of 60 cadets, including six girls, who were hand-picked after a rigorous selection process."

While the UP Sainik School enrolled girls for the first time in April this year, it is a state-funded school. It is not the same as other Sainik Schools, which are managed by the Sainik Schools Society - which function directly under the defence ministry and whose chairperson is the defence minister.

A brainchild of the former defence minister VK Menon, the first Sainik School was set up in 1961 at Satara in Maharashtra. Four more such schools were established later in the same year - Kunjpura (Haryana), Kapurthala (Punjab), Balachadi (Gujarat) and Chittorgarh (Rajasthan). The idea behind setting up these institutions was to do away with the regional imbalance in the officer cadre of defence services while bringing public school education within reach of the common man.

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