Sainik School, Ghorakhal

Sainik School, Ghorakhal is a Sainik School established by the Sainik Schools Society in 1966. It is located in the midst of the serene Beauty of the Great Himalayas at Ghorakhal, 4 kilometres next to the village Bhowali, in Nainital district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. The school prepares its students academically, physically and psychologically for efficient handling of whatever awaits them in the outside world at the end of their schooling. Another one of its principle purposes is to impart public school education to its students at affordable expenses, which is fulfilled by dividing the fee structure based solely upon the financial latitude of the student's guardians along with their own academic performance. For the past five decades, the institute has been credited with providing top servicemen and upstanding citizens to the country. Along with its 24 sibling institutes scattered across the nation, the school has been termed as one of the principle institutes to march the youth towards a better future. A leading magazine article put the school at 12th place among top twenty boarding schools in India.

Background

Sainik School, Ghorakhal was established on 21 March 1966. The school was built on the 500 Acre Ghorakhal Estate of the then Nawab of Rampur, near Bhowali in Nainital District. The estate has flourished to a great extent since its undertaking, owing to the support of the State government and the Ministry of Defence. It was one of the first Sainik Schools to be built.

Campus

The school is situated at an altitude of about 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above sea level amid the idyllic surroundings of the Kumaon Hills. It is 4 km from Bhowali and has the temple of Golu Devta. The school started with 60 students in 1966, at present the strength is around 530.all the cadets are distributed in "Houses" .In total, there are 10 houses now.Shiwalik, Kesari, Garwhal, Kumaon and Singh are the senior Houses while Dhruv, Luv, Kush, Abhimanyu and Bharat are the junior Houses.

The first Principal was Wg Cdr. Jaimal Singh, the first Registrar Sqd Ldr. P N Khanna and the first Head Master Major T C Mehta. Among the first teaching staff were Mr Ramesh Chandra Srivastava (Dept. of History), Mr Vaidya Bhushan Pant (Table Tennis and Dept. of English Language), Mr Om Parkash Gupta (Dept. of Mathematics), Mr Noor Mohammed (NCC/Arts and Craft) who was fond of hunting in the forest hills around the school as well, Mr B.C. Pande (Dept. of Hindi Language) and Mr M C Pande with the Dept of English Language. Mr K S Chhikara was the first Physical Training instructor who with his hard work and earlier career in Indian Navy looked after all the sporting and physical activities, Mr Chhikara was well known around the campus for the moral lectures he used to give every Saturday morning about the practical and future life of the baby and budding military officers.

Extracurricular activities

The school's extra curricular activities includes school band, debate competitions, gardening, photography, music and drama classes and many more, which help the cadets to improve their personality.Cadets are given the opportunity to take part in various interschool competitions both in Nainital and in various parts of the country.The school had recently trained cadets by renowned experts of the National School of Drama (NSD) culminating in a play at the prestigious National School of Drama which was widely appreciated .

The school also invites various cultural artistes form SPIC MACAY and other Institutions to expose the cadets to the country's rich cultural heritage .

The cadets of the school usually do extremely well in almost all the sports competitions in the District and have also the singular honour of winning the inaugural Governors Golf Cup this year .

Admission

The school is for boys between the ages of 10 and 18 years.Boys are admitted to Class Six and 9.While the majority of the admissions take place in the 6th class, since 1993, a small number of candidates are also admitted in Class IX. . An All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination is held annually, usually on the second Sunday of January. There is a 67% quota for students of the host state, Uttarakhand, 25% quota for defence candidates, and 15% and 7.5% respectively to SC and ST candidates. The rest of the boys come from General category. The school terms are from 1 April to 31 March. About 6500 students from various parts of the state/country vie for admission for about 70 seats in this prestigious school, the most among all the Sainik Schools.

Vacations

Cadets are provided with 70 days official vacations. During winter (mid December to January end), Summer (after the annual function celebration i.e. last may for around 20 days) and Diwali break, for a week.

The ssgk garden

Scholarship

The State Government awards scholarships on merit- cum-means basis. In the case of those getting full scholarship, fees in full, together with clothing and money are paid by the Government. Those getting part scholarships have to pay the balance themselves.

The following types of scholarship schemes are in operation on means-cum-merit basis:

a. Defence Scholarships b. State Scholarships according to the parent’s income

Alumni

The school has an enviable reputation of churning out gentlemen who have done the nation and society proud by their achievements .While the school has produced many Generals, Admirals and Air Marshals in the Defence forces, it has also produced many Chief Secretaries, Bureaucrats, Technocrats, entrepreneurs and businessmen across various spheres. Many are contributing to the society as medical professionals who even conduct free medical camps in the village adjoining the School. The school is at present gearing up to celebrate its Golden Jubilee, the grand finale slated for 27, 28 and 29 of May this year.

Management

The Sainik Schools are managed by a Society which is registered under the Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860). A Board of Governors that functions under the Chairmanship of the Defence Minister, is the Chief Executive Body of the Sainik Schools Society. The Board of Governors meets at least once a year. The school has a Local Board of Administration for overseeing the functioning of the school and its finances. At present the LBA Chairman is Lt General LK Pandey, GOC, Uttar Bharat Area. He is an alumnus of the school.

The Chief Minister or the Education Minister of the state are among the members of the Board of Governors. An officer of the Ministry of Defence is nominated to supervise and co-ordinate the functioning of the school and functions as the Honorary Secretary of the Sainik Schools Society. The Honorary Secretary is assisted by officers and staff of the Ministry of Defence. This includes two inspecting officers of the rank of Colonel or equivalent.

Capt(IN) Rohit Dwivedi,a Naval Officer is the Principal. He joined the school in April 2015 and planned and conducted the year long events related to the Golden Jubilee of the school. Recently he oversaw the grand finale of the Golden Jubilee of the school. The highlight was the light and sound show on the history of the Sainik School Ghorakhal on 27 May 16. Vice Admiral HCS Bisht,AVSM, the Commander in Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, an alumni, was the Chief Guest.The Golden Jubilee annual day events were held on 28 May 16 and the Chief Guest was Shri K K Paul, the Honourable Governor of Uttarakhand. An Air Show by the Mig 17 helicopter and elite Garud Commandos of the IAF was held at the school.At Nainital flats an excellent band display of the school band and daredevilry by the elite motorcycle team Ashwa Shwet of the Indian Army enthralled the local population of Kumaon hills. Shri Deepak Rawat,IAS, the District Magistrate of Nainital graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Old Boys of the school participated in large numbers and they were at the forefront in facilitating the year long celebrations which included medical and blood donation camps,teachers' day celebrations,first aid camp, documentary making,publication of coffee table book and many other activities.

At present the Vice Principal is Lieutenant Commander Arunima Raja, a highly motivated Naval Officer, who takes keen interest in the school activities and academic excellence of Cadets.She has a regular interaction with the teaching faculty and Cadets and has dedicated herself to enhance the number of Cadets qualifying for entry into the Armed Forces through NDA.

Squadron Leader B S Rathore, a dynamic Air force officer is the Administrative Officer. His hard work and dedication in last one year has improved the upkeep and look of the school campus.He along with the former Vice Principal Squadron Leader J Sreeprakash were instrumental in successful conduct of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations.

Location

The school is 4 km from Bhowali and 16 km from Nainital. Kathgodam is the nearest railhead (terminus), which is 40 km away. The nearest airport is Pant Nagar 70 km away. A direct bus from Delhi to Nainital takes 10 hours. The nearest Railway Station Kathgodam is 36 km from the school. Although the school has a helipad of its own.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sainik School, Ghorakhal.

• Official website

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