The CPIML expresses deep concerns over recent reports which state that Sainik Schools across the country will be handed over to private players, a majority of whom belong to the BJP-RSS and other Hindu Supremacist organisations. Sainik Schools, which is run under the Ministry of Defence, play a vital role in the recruitment process in armed forces.
According to the The Reporters’ Collective, between 2022 and 2023 the Centre awarded 40 Sainik School agreements to educational institutes linked with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Hindutva organisations and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party or its allies. The report further notes that Nasik’s Bhonsala Military School, which was established in 1937 by the Hindu right-wing ideologue and leader of Hindu Mahasabha BS Moonje has been approved to operate as Sainik School.
Students across sections, including marginalized communities, apply for admissions to these schools in the hope of getting quality education. Students from rural and oppressed communities are given a chance to excel academically. A significant section of students from Sainik School joins various branches of armed forces.
Privatisation and communalisation of these schools, not only impacts the quality and access to affordable education but also is a grave threat to secular character of our armed forces. Clearly the move is part of the Modi-RSS game plan to destroy India’s constitutional ethos. Moreover, the allotment of Sainik schools under PPP model to people part of close to ruling BJP regime points to a political corruption and a system of quid pro quo benefiting the BJP and it’s key people.
CPIML condemns the move by Modi regime to run Sainik Schools in PPP model and handing them over to BJP-RSS functionaries. Ministry of Defence must immediately roll back the PPP model imposed on Sainik Schools.
