Kejriwal inaugurates Delhi\'s first school that will prepare students for armed forces

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday inaugurated the city's first school which will prepare students for the armed forces.

The Shaheed Bhagat Singh Armed Forces Preparatory School at Jharoda Kalan in Najafgarh currently has 175 students.

Kejriwal asked the students to imbibe the feeling of living and dying for the nation.

The state-of-the-art school has an exclusive services preparatory wing to inculcate officer-like qualities (OLQs) in students through individual and group tasks, mock interviews, psychometric tests and personality development workshops.

It has a free hostel facility with cadet mess for boys and girls and is part of the Delhi government's School of Specialised Excellence and affiliated to the Delhi Board of School Education.

It is open to all Delhi residents and students can take admission in Classes 9 and 11, officials said.

"Delhi Government's Armed Forces Preparatory School starts today besides special education, students will get four-year long coaching for the National Defence Academy and similar competitions for free," Kejriwal said.

The chief minister said the school offers services "one wouldn't get in the most posh schools".

"Eighty to ninety per cent of the students here have been absorbed from government schools itself. Education is completely free in our schools, all the children here get the same facilities to eliminate the rich and poor divide," he said.

He said the school was built within a year and they have surpassed their own expectations.

"Couple of years back, we realised how Delhi has no Sainik School to prepare cadets for the army. Within just one year, we built this school and even surpassed our own expectations," he asserted.

The school also offers extensive preparation (academic and service preparatory) for students aspiring to join the NDA/Naval Academy and other Uniformed Services.

"A lot of students used to prepare on their own and appear for these tests which includes the NDA and other entrance exams. Other states had Sainik Schools but Delhi never had any school of that kind," he said.

Motivating students to dedicate their entire lives for the country, Kejriwal recalled his student days at IIT Kharagpur from where he passed out in 1989.

"At that time only I thought of doing something for the country. A lot of students went abroad and settled there. It is our own country and we have to work for it. I will live, fight and die here for the betterment of the country," he said.

More than 18,000 applications were received this year for admission to the school.

The school has a three-stage admission process - aptitude test, physical endurance tests, psychometric tests and a medical fitness test in the third stage.

"It was a tough competition. More than 18,000 students applied for admission. Your children have sailed over such a tough battle and credit of their success goes to you as well. I pray to the Almighty that all of them get selected in the NDA or whichever exam they appear in," he said.

The chief minister said they will also invite the experts like retired and serving officers of the Armed Forces to coach students.

Naming the school after Shaheed Bhagat Singh was a well-thought decision, he said.

"He sacrificed his life at a very young age of 23 by getting hanged. In today's time, boys are in search of a girlfriend or a job at the age of 23. We named this school after him so that every student who passes out from this school has the spirit to sacrifice their lives for the country after getting inspired from the man himself," he added.

He asked the students to remember that even the poorest of the poor have contributed to the facilities they are receiving at this school, saying it is taxpayers' money.