Institution 01 · Foundation
SAINIK SCHOOL
KAZHAKOOTAM
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala · Ministry of Defence
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala · Ministry of Defence
Before E Squadron, before the Bihar Regiment, there was a Sainik School — the institution the entire Sainik Schools system was built to be.
The Sainik Schools were the vision of V.K. Krishna Menon, India's Defence Minister in the early 1960s, who wanted a chain of schools across the country that could prepare boys — many from backgrounds with no prior connection to the armed forces — for entry into the National Defence Academy and, from there, into the officer corps. Sainik School Kazhakootam, on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, is one of that founding generation of schools, run under the Ministry of Defence.
For a cadet who would go on to NDA and a regiment, a Sainik School education meant years of early exposure to the rhythms an officer's life would later demand: a structured daily routine, NCC training, competitive sport, and a house system built to instil leadership under pressure well before the parade grounds of Khadakwasla.
This is the well-worn path of the Sainik School system: a boy enters at eleven or twelve, is shaped by six or seven years of that discipline, sits the NDA entrance examination, and — if selected — carries the school's habits straight into the Academy and, eventually, a regiment of his own.