From the academic year 2021-22, reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) will be introduced in Sainik schools across the country, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said on Friday in a Twitter post.
Following the decision, the allocation of seats in Sainik schools would be Scheduled Castes (SC) 15%, Scheduled Tribes (ST) 7%, OBC (non-creamy layer) 27%, defence category 13% and general category 38%, according to a Defence Ministry notification. Dated October 13, the notification was sent to principals of all Sainik schools across the country.
The Sainik Schools Society functioning under the Defence Ministry manages 33 residential schools across the country.
The notification stated that 67% of the seats in a Sainik school are reserved for candidates from the State or the Union Territory (UT) in which the school is located and the remaining 33% is reserved for students from other States/UTs. These two lists will be termed List A and List B. The above distribution of slots across categories is applicable to both the lists.
In October last year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a proposal for admission of girls to Sainik schools from academic session 2021-22 in a phased manner. The Ministry had stated that this decision was taken following the success of a pilot project in Sainik School Chhingchhip in Mizoram two years ago.
NCC camp in Kashmir
The first National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp in the Kashmir Valley after a gap of 10 years was held recently from October 18 to 26. Around 120 cadets of No. 3 J&K NCC Battalion, based in Baramulla, participated in the training camp at Army Goodwill School, Uri.
The NCC started in the country in 1948, and in 1954 in Jammu and Kashmir.
“This is the first NCC camp in the Kashmir Valley after almost 10 years. Earlier cadets from Kashmir used to go to Jammu or Leh,” said Maj. Gen. Virendra Vats, General Officer Commanding of Army’s 19 Infantry Division.
An Army source stated that the immediate purpose of the camp was to train and select suitable cadets who would subsequently go on to represent the Union Territory at the NCC Republic Day Camp at New Delhi in January 2021 and it also served the purpose of constructive engagement of the youth of Baramulla and Uri.
