Chail Military School
Chail Military School is a residential school in Himachal Pradesh, India, established after the First World War in 1922 with a donation of 250,000 from King George V’s patriotic fund. The foundation stone of the school was laid by King George V in February 1922. The school started functioning at Jalandhar Cantonment in 1925. Cadets are known as Georgians after their founder father.
The school is located amidst pine and deodar forests in the heart of the 110 km2 Chail Sanctuary at an altitude of 2144 meters. The world's highest cricket ground is located in Chail and is used as a training and playground for cadets.
History
Chail Military School is the oldest military school in India. Along with its sister institute now located in Jhelum, Pakistan, Chail Military School was named as King George Royal Indian Military School after King George V. After the First World War, in February 1922 the foundation stone of the school was laid and regular classes were started in September 1925 at Jalandhar Cant in Punjab. The KGRIMS at Jhelum and KGRIMS at Jalandhar were the first two such institutions to be established in 1925. The KGRIMS Ajmer was established in 1930. The above institutions were re-designated to KGRIMC in 1945 and two more institutions were established namely KGRIMC Belgaum in 1945 and KGRIMC Bangalore in 1946.The school was founded to provide free education to the sons of JCOs, NCOs and ORs to prepare them for Army examinations including the Indian Special Certificate of Education. The curriculum of the school was based on military requirements with English as a medium of instruction. The strength of the school was 250 and the staff consisted mostly of military personnel.
During the World War II the cadets of these institutions were granted emergency commission and subsequently permission was granted for entry of the Cadets to the Armed Forces looking to the training they received at these institutions. During the Second World War the school was designated as a college. One hundred more cadets were admitted under the expansion scheme. The eligibility norms were relaxed to facilitate enrollment of near relatives of Army personnel and admissions were thrown open to all branches of armed forces. At that time, college was affiliated to the Panjab University for matriculation and intermediate examinations. The institution produced a large number of officers. After partition in 1947, the KGRIMC, Jhelum which was in Pakistan was named as 'Military College Jhelum' and the cadets/ex-students there call themselves 'ALAMGIRIANS'.
After independence, a parliamentary committee headed by the educationist Dr. H N Kunjru recommended reorganization of these schools on Public School lines like the Doon School Dehradun, Lawrence School Sanawar, Mayo College Ajmer, and in 1952, the Ghosh Committee recommended changes in the objectives of these institutions. The cadets were now free to join any profession without the obligation to join the Armed Forces. The King George Royal Indian Military College was renamed as King George’s School and shifted to Nowgong in August 1952 where it was housed in 'Old Kitchner College buildings'. The school was reorganized in September 1952 and half of the seats of total of 300 were thrown open to the wards of civilians and armed forces officers. In the same year the school was also made a member of the Indian Public Schools' Conference.
In 1952, these institutions at Nowgong, Ajmer, Belgaum and Bangalore were re-designated to King Georges School. In 1962 the fifth school was started at Dholpur in Rajasthan. The King George’s School Nowgong was relocated to its current location in Chail in Himachal Pradesh on 1 July 1960. It was renamed as Chail Military School, Chail. In Jan 1966 these KG schools were re-designated to Military Schools. Cadets are now prepared for senior school certificate examination of the central board of secondary education, New Delhi and it is no longer obligatory for them to join the Defence forces.
In 2007, Chail Military School along with its sister institutes Bangalore Military School, Belgaum Military School, Ajmer Military School and Dholpur Military School were renamed as Rashtriya Military Schools of India.
Cadets of these institutions have risen to the rank of Generals, Air marshals and Admirals, Secretaries to the government of India and to top positions in the police and Paramilitary forces. Many have established industries and reached international level recognition in their fields and also hold high positions in companies. Many cadets are Ministers and Members of Parliament, surgeons and scientists. The cadets from these institutions call themselves Georgians.
The school
The school is a category 'A' establishment of the Army and is administrated by the Directorate General of Military Training at IHQ of MOD. It is under Army. The Central Governing Council, headed by the Defence Secretary, Ministry of Defence is the apex body for the school. The school prepares boys from the age of 10 to 18 years for the All India Secondary School Examination and All India Senior School Certificate Examination, New Delhi and also for Entrance Examination to the National Defence Academy.Subdivisions/Houses
- Taxila House whose cdts are known as Tigers.
House Captain:Cdt.Sahil Sharma
House Prefect:Cdt.Prateek Lohan
House Motto:Be Rough and Tough.
- Nalanda House whose cdts are known as Fireballs.
House Captain:Cdt.Md Tauhid
House Prefect:Cdt.Sachin
House Motto: Do or Die.
- Ujjain House whose cdts are known as Dynamites.
House Captain:Cdt.Praveen Kumar
House Prefect:Cdt.Rudra Rathi
House Motto: Fight till Death
Admissions
Admission to class VI- Students are not admitted directly to the school. Students aged between 10-11 appear in CET for all military schools, followed by interview and medical examinations to join the school according to merit list. For further details see Director General of Military training website
- Admission to class IX is through a Common Entrance Test, which is conducted by the Rashtriya Military School Chail.
- Admission to class XI is based on marks secured in the X class.
- This year the admissions of both class 9 and 6 have been postponed due to the hike in the COVID-19 cases all over India and are most likely to happen in August.
- 70% of seats are reserved for the wards of JCOs, OR in Army, Navy and Air Force including ex-servicemen. 30% of the seats are reserved for the wards of officers and for the wards of civilians.
- 15% and 7.5% of the seats in each of these categories are reserved for SC and ST candidates.
- 10 seats in each Rashtriya Military School are reserved for wards of personnel killed in action.
Academics
Sports and physical education
The school is said to have the world's highest cricket ground where the morning PT, evening sports and sporting events are held.Cadets undergo compulsory physical training in the morning and play sports in the evening. The school has facilities for cricket, hockey, basketball, volleyball, athletics, cross-country, boxing, cycling, hiking and mountaineering. The school is a member of the Indian Public Schools' Conference and participates in state as well as national level sports competitions. In 2007, cadets won six gold, seven silver and two bronze in the CBSE cluster XIII Athletics meet held at Chandigarh. The Inter Military Schools Pentagular meet is an annual sports and CCA event where all five military schools compete in several field. The school has won many medals in the annual Pentangular meets.
CCA
CCA is a part of the school curriculum. Cadets participate in debates, declamations, quizzes, extempore, dance, theatre, poetry recitation in English and Hindi. They also participate in interhouse and interschool arts competitions. The school team is a participant in national and state level CCA meets. Chail Gurudwara and Sidh temple are also actively administered by the school.Chail Military School in Siachen
Cadets from the school have reached the world's highest battlefield 'Siachen Glacier'. The team consisted of four cadets each from the Rashtriya Indian Military College and the Chail Military School, two cadets from the Indian Military Academy, six cadets - including four girls - from the National Cadet Corps, four civilians, including the wife of an army officer, four officers, 15 personnel below officer rank and seven media persons.Notable alumni
The school has produced several Generals, Brigadiers and thousands of Colonels and Lt Colonels along with governors, ministers and civil servants. Many Students have joined the top Govt. services like Indian Foreign Service.- Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria, awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest wartime military award. First Param Vir Chakra won by an NDA alumni.
- Lt Gen Noble Thamburaj Sena Medal Vice Chief of Army Staff
- Lt Gen R S Dyal Lt Governor Chandigarh and Maha Vir Chakra
- Lt Gen J S Gharaya Maha Vir Chakra
- Maj Gen Shamsher Singh Maha Vir Chakra
- Brig Rai Singh Maha Vir Chakra
Commandants and Principals
| Commandants | Years |
| Lt. AL Hadden | 1925–1928 |
| Capt. HE Sharps | 1928–1932 |
| Capt. THL Stebbing | 1932–1936 |
| Capt. JH Bell | 1936–1939 |
| Maj. WS Beddal | 1939–1944 |
| Lt Col RCF Caulifield | 1944–1947 |
| Lt Col F Mitchell | 1947 |
| Maj N L Gujral | 1947–1948 |
| Maj R Som Dutt | 1948–1949 |
| Maj F S Shergill | 1949–1952 |
| Shri Din Dayal | 1952–1954 |
| Shri PD Gadre | 1954–1960 |
| Maj S Mazumdar | 1960–1961 |
| Cdr BS Ranjit | 1961–1963 |
| Maj SS Nakra | 1963–1964 |
| Lt Col SS Nakra | 1964–1967 |
| Lt Col Randhir Singh | 1967–1968 |
| Lt Col Ramji Chugh | 1968–1973 |
| Maj JC Kohli | 1973–1976 |
| Shri UK Chaturvedi | 1976–1983 |
| Maj BN Arjunan | 1983–1984 |
| Maj MPS Tyagi | 1984–1985 |
| Shri L William | 1985–1986 |
| Shri KK Arora | 1986–1988 |
| Lt Col TS Aulakh | 1988–1990 |
| Shri RC Chopra | 1990–1992 |
| Dr SN Pandey | 1992–1993 |
| Lt Col AK Maini | 1993–1996 |
| Maj Vijai Singh | 1996–1999 |
| Shri TS Panwar | 1999–2001 |
| Maj Kamal Padha | 2001–2003 |
| Lt Col Raju Peter | 2003–2006 |
| Lt Col. V Ravindra Kumar | 2006–2008 |
| Lt Col. VK Bhat | 2008–2011 |
| Lt Col. Arun M Kulkarni | 2011-2014 |
| Lt Col. Vineet Ohri | 2014-2017 |
| Lt Col. SPS Chauhan | 2017 |