Defence panel reviews Sainik Schools; Rahul Gandhi queries private involvement

New Delhi: A parliamentary committee on Tuesday discussed various aspects of Sainik Schools, including involvement of private institutions in running the defence ministry-administered schools.

Sources said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, raised questions on the functioning of Sainik Schools and asked how "private institutions are given the task of running the Sainik Schools" which come under the purview of the Ministry of Defence.

The leader of the opposition also asked the reasons behind the involvement of private institutions in running the Sainik Schools, the sources said.


The subject of Tuesday's meeting was "Review of Sainik Schools, Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and Rashtriya Military Schools".

The Committee is headed by BJP MP Radha Mohan Singh.

Highlighting the steps taken by the government towards ensuring that a larger number of youth imbibe the values essential for nation-building, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in March 2026 had said that recently a decision was taken to establish 100 new Sainik Schools across the country in the "public-private partnership model".

Singh was addressing the Diamond Jubilee of Sainik School, Ghorakhal in Uttarakhand virtually.

The then minister of state for defence, Ajay Bhatt, had informed Parliament in December 2022 that the government had approved an initiative to set up 100 new Sainik Schools in partnership mode with NGOs, private schools and state government schools in all states and Union Territories.