Uttam presses for Sanik School in Warangal, says state ignoring offer from Centre

Hyderabad: Congress state president Uttam Kumar Reddy has accused the TRS government of failure in getting a Sainik School in Telangana even as the defence ministry has accorded "in-principle" approval and signed an MoU on March 2, 2017 for such a facility in Warangal district.

Uttam said it was shocking the state government has ignored the matter for four years. The delay in setting up a Sainik School in Telangana even after seven years of the state formation is a major failure on the part of the TRS government, he said.

"As an alumni of the National Defence Academy (NDA) and a former military officer, I urge the TRS government to take the matter seriously and help thousands of young men and women from the state join a career in the Indian military. This would put Warangal on the map of India and create direct and indirect employment to many youths," he said.

The Congress leader said Sainik Schools in India are the feeder lines for the National Defence Academy, Pune, the main military training academy for officers of Indian army, navy and air force. Sainik Schools are financed by the defence ministry and are excellent schools that charge only nominal fees from students, he said.

The TPCC chief said there are 33 Sainik Schools in various states in which 16,176 students are studying at very nominal cost. The only state with no Sainik School is Telangana, he said.

He added: "In response to my question in Lok Sabha, the defence minister gave a written reply stating that the ministry has accorded "in-principle" approval and signed the MoU in 2017 for opening a Sainik School at Warangal district. Thereafter, there has been no response from the state government till date."