The Rashtriya Military Schools, run by the Ministry of Defence are on the move to allow the entry of female students to the schools. Earlier, NDA and Sainik Schools have changed the rules of the male-only system of course at the institutions. The move has got approval from the honorable Supreme Court of India after the affidavit submitted by the government. The court has advised the ministry to start the admission processes from the upcoming academic session.
Affidavit by Ministry of Defence
In the affidavit submitted by the ministry, it is said that the admission process is to be initiated from the next academic year to complete the procedures required to kickstart the admission process. The ministry also stated that there is a need to create additional seats and vacancies to admit the female candidates in military schools and colleges. As per the reports from various news agencies, female candidates will be allowed to appear for the national level entrance tests conducted by the Rashtriya Military Schools for admission from next year.
Seat allocation
The number of seats in the RMS schools will be increased in two phases to accommodate the girl students. In the first phase, the total number of seats will be increased to 300 from the already existing number of 250. In the second phase, the number of seats will be increased to 350 from 300. In the 2022-23 session, girls are being allowed admissions only in Class 6, as per the official notification.
The infrastructure of the RMS schools will be changed to allow the entry of girl cadets by appointing more female staff. The campus infrastructure will be updated in such a way as to provide privacy and protection to female students.
According to the Ministry of Defence, “Reserve 10% of the total vacancies in each school for girl candidates for entry into Classes 6 to 9 in accordance with various reservations applicable in the RMSs w.e.f. academic session 2023-24.”
The Rashtriya Military schools in India are located at Chail (Himachal Pradesh), Ajmer (Rajasthan), Belgaum (Karnataka), Bengaluru (Karnataka) & Dholpur (Rajasthan). The move to admit female candidates in military schools and institutions can be seen as the preliminary move to make the Indian Defence forces more female-friendly. Earlier only male candidates were allowed to be a part of the frontline of the Indian Defense Forces.
