NEW DELHI, 8 Jan: The government’s decision to set up 100 new Sainik Schools will provide an opportunity for girl students to join the armed forces and contribute to national security, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.
In an address at an online conference, Singh said the government is for increasing the role of women in the armed forces and a series of steps have been taken in that direction, including clearing the way for their admission in Sainik Schools and providing permanent commission to women officers.
The defence minister exuded confidence that the decision to establish new Sainik Schools will encourage girls to realize their dreams of serving the country.
Singh suggested that the defence department and the Sainik School Society should
devise a mechanism for ranking all Sainik Schools on the basis of their performance and audit.
This, he said, will lead to healthy competition among the schools, besides providing encouragement to introduce innovative steps.
He said that, along with the curriculum, children should be exposed to patriotism and loyalty towards the nation as it will help in building their character and benefit the country.
The defence minister described the announcement of the expansion of Sainik Schools as one of the many important decisions taken by the government in the last six-seven years to improve the quality of basic education of children and ensure the holistic development of the country.
“The setting up of 100 new Sainik Schools will provide an opportunity to girls to join the armed forces and contribute to national security,” Singh said.
In October, the union cabinet approved the affiliation of 100 schools from the academic year 2022-23 in government and private sectors with the Sainik School Society under the defence ministry.
Singh stated that while ‘sainik’ signifies unity, discipline and devotion, ‘school’ is the centre of education. “Therefore, Sainik Schools are playing a pivotal role in making children capable citizens,” he said.
Singh said the government is focusing on providing quality education to the youth of the country as it lays a solid foundation for the all-round development of the society.
“Quality education is the fourth of the 17 sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations. There are several other goals under ‘quality education’. It has been our strong political commitment to achieve these goals,” Singh said.
“Several schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan are being run. Setting up of 100 new Sainik Schools is another important step in that direction,” he said. (PTI)
