New Delhi, The setting up of a hundred new Sainik schools will provide an opportunity to girls to join the Armed Forces and contribute to national security, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said today while chairing a webinar on Sainik Schools.
"The Government believes in 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 admission of girls in Sainik Schools and providing Permanent Commission to women officers," said Rajnath Singh.
He exuded confidence the decision to establish new Sainik schools will encourage girls to realise their dreams of serving the country.
Rajnath described the announcement of 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.
He hoped that the amalgamation of Raksha and Shiksha in Sainik schools will play an important role in nation building in future.
The Government is focussing on providing quality education to the youth of the country as it lays a solid foundation for the all-round development of society, said Rajnath Singh.
"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," he said adding that setting up of 100 new Sainik Schools is another important step in that direction.
He appreciated the fact that Sainik schools have contributed to the recruitment of more than 7,000 officers in the Armed Forces so far and have given the country officers like former Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor (Retd) and Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag (Retd), besides Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio; former RBI Governor D Subbarao and Film Director Rakesh Roshan.
"Today, our country is moving fast in the path of self-reliance in every field. It is touching newer heights in fields like defence, health, communication, industry and transport due to the synergy between public and private sectors. There is a need for a revolution in the education sector and holistic development of children. This is only possible if there is a strong collaboration of defence, education and private sector," the minister said urging the private sector to join the Government's initiative of expansion of Sainik schools.
Rajnath Singh suggested Department of Defence and Sainik School Society to devise a mechanism for ranking all Sainik schools on the basis of their performance and audit, "this will lead to a healthy competition among the schools," he said.
Union Cabinet on October 12 last year had approved the proposal for launching of Sainik Schools in partnership with NGOs/Private Schools/State-owned schools on affiliation basis with Sainik Schools Society. These schools would function as an exclusive vertical, which will be distinct and different from existing Sainik Schools.
Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Secretary Department of School Education and Literacy Anita Karwal were among those who attended the seminar virtually.
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