Chail Military School

Chail Military School (Rashtriya Military School Chail or King George Royal Indian Military College) 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 (now in Pakistan) 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 (Bundelkhand) 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 school the was also made a member of the Indian Public School Conference (IPSC).

In 1952, these institutions at Nowgong, Ajmer, Belgaum and Bangalore were re-designated to King Georges School (KGS). 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 July 1, 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 (Karnataka), Belgaum Military School (Karnataka), Ajmer Military School (Rajasthan) and Dholpur Military School (Rajasthan) 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 Ppramilitary 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(Army). The Central Governing Council(CGC), 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

 * Taxila House (Sidh and Oak Cottage) known as Tigers. Motto: Rough and Tough.
 * Nalanda House (New Dorms and Annexe)known as Fireballs. Motto: Do or Die.
 * Ujjain House (Glen and Avanti, previously No.9) known as Dynamite. Motto: Fight till Death.

Admissions
Admission to class VI
 * Students are not admitted directly to the school. Students aged between 10-12 appear in CET for all military schools, followed by interview and medical examinations to join the school according to merit list (the success rate is approximately 1% of the total applicant). For further details see Director General of Military training (MT15) 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.

Reservations
 * 67% of seats are reserved for the wards of JCOs, OR in Army, Navy and Air Force including ex-servicemen. 20% of the seats are reserved for the wards of officers and 13% 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
The school is affiliated to the CBSE board of India. Unit tests are held quarterly in addition to half yearly and annual examinations. Students appear for AISSCE (10th) and AISSE (12th) along with other CBSE affiliated schools in India. Student to staff ratio is about 2.5:1 and student to teaching staff ratio is 10:1 which is far above the national average of India. Staff are recruited by central government from all over India. Students are offered Science, Arts and Commerce subjects in 11th and 12th classes. School curriculum includes seven periods of 40 minutes each. Daily three hours of compulsory prep is included in a routine for students to concentrate on studies.

Sports and physical education
The school is said to have the world's highest cricket ground (at 7500 ft) 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 School Conference (IPSC) 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 (and previously Rashtriya Indian Military College Dehradun) 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 comprises four cadets each from the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) 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 36 Generals (Lt Gen and Maj Gen), 54 Brigadier Generals and thousands of Colonels and Lt Colonels along with governors, ministers and civil servants.
 * 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 Jaswant Singh Vice Chief of Army Staff
 * Lt Gen Noble Thamburaj Sena Medal Vice Chief of Army Staff
 * Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Lt Governor Karnataka
 * Lt Gen R S Dyal Lt Governor Chandigarh and Maha Vir Chakar
 * Lt Gen Anand Swaroop Maha Vir Chakar
 * Lt Gen J S Gharaya Maha Vir Chakar
 * Maj Gen Shamsher Singh Maha Vir Chakar
 * Brig Rai Singh Maha Vir Chakar
 * Brig Jaswant Singh Kirti Chakra (Ashok Chakra II)
 * Shri H S Gurung Minister (Nepal)
 * Shri Satyavrat Chaturvedi, politician, Rajya Sabha,MP. Formal general secretary and national spokeseperson of Congress.
 * Shri Vipin Pubby, resident Editor, The Indian Express, Chandigarh
 * Shri Jalil Pal Singh Minister (MP)
 * Shri Lal Bahadur Bashisht Minister (Sikkim)
 * Shri Jagjit Singh Sapra IFS (Ambassador of India to Trinidad and Tobago and North Korea)
 * Shri K M Chadha IAS
 * Shri Anoop Singh IAS
 * Shri Khem Bahadur Gurung IAS
 * Shri Amrik Singh Pooni IAS (Chief Sec Punjab)
 * Shri Siddharth Dewerman IAS
 * Shri Kamarjeet Singh Bajwa IAS
 * Dr Harparminder Singh Chadha (Hind Rattan Award)
 * Shri Uttam Chand IPS (J&K cadre, SP Srinagar)

The school has produced over 100 officers above the ranks of brigadiers, several IAS, IPS and IRS officers, doctors, engineers, actors, business men and gallantry award winners (VC, SM, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, KC, SC, COAS CC, SM& bar and so on). The full list is at the website (webs) of Chail Military School.

Travelling to school
The nearest airports are at Shimla (48 km) and Chandigarh (108 km) but Chail Military School has its own helipad at the altitude of 2444.4 m as pictured below. Nearest broad gauge railway station is at Kalka (89 km) and narrow gauge station is at Kandaghat (29 km). Chail is well connected with regular bus services from Delhi, Patiala, Chandigarh, Kalka, Solan, Shimla, Kandaghat and Kufri. By car Chail is reached from Kandaghat, Shimla, Kufri or Gaura (Giri Ganga).



Chail is pleasant in summers and cold in winter. The average annual rainfall is about 150 mm.

Georgian Association North
All students and their family members are the part of the extended Georgian family. President of the Georgian Association is Mr K S Manipal who was elected on April 13, 2013 at Chandigarh.