Hyderabad: Telangana will soon get its first Sainik School, which will be set up at Hakimpet in Dudyala mandal under Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s Kodangal constituency. Although the Sainik School Society under the Ministry of Defence has yet to give formal clearance, a central expert committee inspected the site on November 21 and expressed satisfaction. The approval is expected shortly.
The state education department confirmed that CM Revanth Reddy will lay the foundation stone on November 24. The state has already allocated over 11 acres of land and will fund the construction and operational costs. Once Telangana meets all the conditions, the central government is expected to grant approval under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Six other schools await Sainik School status
Earlier, the state had proposed converting seven government institutions into Sainik Schools. These included three Zilla Parishad schools in Rangareddy, Hanumakonda, and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, along with four General Residential Schools in Vikarabad, Sangareddy, Medchal, and Mulugu.
Since the government has already cleared a greenfield Sainik School for Vikarabad, it is unlikely to convert the residential school there. However, decisions on the other six proposals are still pending.
At the same time, private institutions have also shown interest. One private school in Khammam rural mandal has already been inspected by the Sainik School Society to assess its facilities.
The PPP model, introduced two years ago, allows Sainik Schools to admit students from Class 6 to Intermediate. There are currently 102 such schools nationwide. In private institutions under this scheme, the Centre covers 50% of tuition fees. Notably, the updated policy now supports both residential and day-scholar formats. Moreover, these schools emphasise physical training alongside academics.