Lucknow: "Sanskar", "Sanskriti" and "Samrasta" will be at the core of the education that will be provided to the countrys future soldiers in the first "army school" to be run by the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), classes for which will start in April in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr.
The school, known as Rajju Bhaiya Sainik Vidya Mandir (RBSVM), will be a first of its kind school to be run by the RSS. Rajju Bhaiyya was a former RSS chief.
"We want those aspiring to join the defence forces, to get proper education in values (sanskar), culture (sanskriti) and harmony (samrasta) so that our defence forces emerge even stronger in the coming years.
"The idea is to give education as well as moral and spiritual guidance to students and this is possible only in a residential school," said a senior RSS functionary.
Sangh functionaries will provide moral and spiritual guidance to students which will help them cope with the career in armed forces.
Asked whether the 'moral and spiritual guidance' would imply lessons in Hindutva, the functionary said: "We are focusing on 'Rashtra bhakti' (nationalism) and if anyone wants to equate that with Hindutva, it is their problem."
Sources said that students will be provided education from Classes 6 to 12 under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum.
The classes are set to begin from April 2020 and its first batch is expected to comprise around 160 students.
The school is meant only for boys though, sources said, there could be a wing for girl students later on, too.
The school building is in Shikarpur tehsil of Bulandshahr district, where the former RSS chief Rajju Bhaiyya was born in 1922.
The school will be run by Vidya Bharti, the education wing of the RSS, and will offer defence training to students. Vidya Bharti already runs over 20,000 schools across India.
The residential school has come up on an eight-acre land donated by former soldier Chaudhary Rajpal Singh.
According to reports, the three-storey building has a hostel, quarters for staff, a dispensary and a stadium.
"We will prepare students for NDA, Naval Academy and technical examination of the Indian Army. Registration will continue till February 23. Entrance test will be held on March 1. We will examine students' abilities in reasoning, general knowledge, Mathematics and English. After the written examination, there will be interview and then a medical test. We will start the session from April 6," said RBSVM director Colonel Shiv Pratap Singh.
According to a senior RSS functionary, the school building is almost ready and school has started inviting applications for the first batch of 160 students for Class 6.
Eight seats will be reserved for the children of personnel killed in battle. The wards of the martyrs will also get some age relaxation. There would be no other reservation in the school and it would follow the CBSE pattern.
The school has also initiated the process of hiring teachers and administrative staff which would be completed by February-end.
The principal of the school would be provided by RSS' educational wing Vidya Bharati.
Both students and teachers will have uniforms - light-blue shirt and dark-blue trouser for students; grey-coloured trouser and white shirt for teachers.
