MoA for Sainik School Satara inked; may lead to cut in fee

The Central and the Maharashtra government have signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) for financial assistance to Sainik School in Satara district.
The school in western Maharashtra, set up in 1961, is the first in the series of around 25 Sainik schools currently running in the country with the objective of preparing boys for entry to the armed forces as officers.
The MoA was signed in Delhi on January 13 between representatives of Maharashtra government and the Defence Ministry, which governs the Sainik Schools Society.
With the MoA in place, the school administration has heaved a sigh of relief as expenditure on heads like meal allowance of students, scholarship, building maintenance, training grants, staff pension and subsidy for various other activities will be taken care of by the government.

The signing of the MoA will entail financial assistance of around Rs 5 crore from Maharashtra government to the school annually and the development is likely to result in a fee cut, an Education Department official said.
In absence of such an MoA, the burden used to fall on students who had to pay a hefty fee, thus, depriving pupils from poor sections of a chance to enter the prestigious institution.
So far, around 1,500 ex-students of the school have joined the Army, Air Force and Navy as officers, while many others are serving in government and private sectors.
School alumni and parents have thanked Union Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and Education Minister Vinod Tawde for their efforts in getting the MoA inked.