Sainik School, Kunjpura

Sainik School, Kunjpura
Location
Kunjpura, Karnal district,
Haryana, India
India
Coordinates 29°26′N 77°03′E / 29.43°N 77.05°E
Information
Type Sainik School
Motto सिद्धिम् सन्नद्ध
'Ready to Accomplish'
Established 1961
School district Karnal
Principal Gp Capt L.N.Sharma
Headmaster Wg Cdr S.K. Sharma
Number of students 620 in classes VI to XII
Campus 276 acres (1.12 km2)
Affiliation Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi
Website sskunjpura.org

Sainik School, Kunjpura is one of the first five Sainik Schools (military school) established by the 'Sainik Schools Society' in 1961 in India and was the first Sainik School in the state of Haryana.[1] It was set up prepare students for entry into the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, Pune.[2][3][4][5] The school comes under the control of the state government and Ministry of Defence.

Situated west of Kunjpura village in Karnal district of Haryana, the school stands on a 275 acres (1.11 km2) campus and is situated 10 km northeast of Karnal city and 130 km north of Delhi.

More than 575 students from the school have qualified for the National Defence Academy (NDA). The school made news when a record 16 students qualified for joining the NDA in 2006 through the written examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the subsequent interview conducted by Services Selection Board (SSB)[6] and the number increased to twenty in 2008.[7]

History

The school was started in July 1961 on the large property that originally belonged to the last Nawab of Kunjpura, Ibrahim Ali Khan, who had built it in the year 1900 to house the marriage party of his daughter. The property passed into the hands of the Defence Ministry as the nawab migrated to Pakistan after the independence of India and died in Lahore in 1952. Before becoming the Sainik School, it was also the ‘sanctum sanctorium’ of the prestigious ‘Punjab Police Academy’.

Sainik School, Kunjpura came into being in July 1961, at the behest of V. K. Krishna Menon, the then Defence Minister of India, who took personal interest in its inception. He handed over command of the school to Lt. Col. E J Simeon (1918–2007), a Corps of Signals officer stationed in Delhi at the time, who ran the school for the next seven years as its Founder Principal till his retirement from the Army in 1967.[8][9] He was succeeded by Col. Munindra Chandra as the Principal, whose contribution in sending a record number of cadets from the 1969 and 1970 batches of the NDA, subsequent principals were Group Captain Suresh Kumar,Col Arun Datta and Group Captain L.N.Sharma who is the present principal of the school.[4][10]

Overview

Gradually, additions were made to the main building of the school in terms of new constructions. But the main building remained the ‘nerve centre’ of the school with the administrative block, senior classrooms, computer-cum-conference room, library, general knowledge room and staff room, etc. in its vicinity.

In addition to the main building, the school has an NDA block, cadets Mess, the Manekshaw Auditorium, the Simeon Squash Court, riding school, swimming pool, infirmary and residential areas for the staff and the boys. The Main Building has the Administrative block, Office of the Principal, conference hall, library and sub-junior classes. The NDA block has the Academic block, staff room, computer lab, lecture hall and multimedia room. The school also has a synthetic tennis court. Training of National Cadet Corps (NCC) is compulsory for all the boys of the school.

The school is a ‘Dronacharya’s Gurukul’ in the true sense of the word as it provides opportunities for growth and development in each and every segment of a student’s life, may it be academics, co-curricular activities, extra-curricular activities or career guidance.

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ Antony to lay foundation stone of Sainik School today
  2. ↑ Sainik School, Kunjpura, celebrated its 46th Founder's day The Hindu, September 1, 2006
  3. ↑ edusainik.asp Sainik School, Kunjpura Karnal district official website.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Budget bounty lifts spirits at Sainik schools The Economic Times, March 5, 2008
  5. ↑ Gen Kapoor, Hooda come together at their alma mater The Hindu, July 25, 2008
  6. ↑ SAINIK SCHOOL, KUNJUPURA CADETS BREAK ALL RECORDS Ministry of Defence, Press Information Bureau.
  7. ↑ Haryana school makes NDA history The Times of India, 5 March 2008.
  8. ↑ Lt. Col. Eric Joseph Simeon dead The Hindu, 16 May 2007."After that Eric Joseph Simeon was the headmaster of the La Martiniere School for Boys, Calcutta (1967-1970); the Doon School, Dehra Dun (1970-79); and the Cathedral and John Connon School, Bombay (1979-1986).
  9. ↑ Schooled for life Indian Express, 2 June 2007.
  10. ↑ Modern gurukul at Kunjpura that produces sainiks By U. K. Bhanot, The Tribune, October 19, 1998.

External links