Rajnath inaugurates first all-girls Sainik School in Uttar Pradesh

The project became a reality two years after admission of girls started in these military schools from 2021-22 academic session.

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday inaugurated the first all girls Sainik School at Vrindavan in Mathura, further expanding the government decision to open up such schools for girls.

The all girls Sainik School became a reality two years after admission of girls started in these military schools from 2021-22 academic session following a successful pilot project in Sainik School Chhingchhip in Mizoram.

The decision came amidst the government opening up the armed forces more to women, a defence ministry official said.

Inaugurating the Samvid Gurukulam Girls Sainik School at Vrindavan, Singh said, “Women have the right to protect the nation just like their male counterparts. It was a golden moment in the history of women empowerment when we approved the admission of girls to Sainik Schools. Our women are not only flying fighter jets, they are also securing the borders."

The armed forces have opened more branches to women including combat arms like flying fighter jets and deployment on-board the naval warships. Women are also being posted in long-range patrol duties and in the Siachen glacier.

Sainik schools started way back in 1961 with five institutions to rectify the regional and class imbalance among the officer cadre in the Indian military.

Over the years, 28 more schools were added to the network, producing a large number of two-star and three-star officers besides a few Service Chiefs like Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik and Gen Deepak Kapoor.

The government has now decided to open up 100 new Sainik schools in partnership with the private sector. Out of these, 42 have been approved and sessions have commenced in 19 of them. The Vrindavan school has a strength of nearly 870 seats.