On Bhagat Singh martyrdom day eve, Kejriwal announces special school in Shaheed-e-Azad’s name

Aditi Tandon

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New Delhi, March 22

Marking the martyrdom day of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh (March 23), the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government on Tuesday announced the development of a special school in the martyr’s name to train children for the armed forces.

Chief Minister Kejriwal in remarks on the eve of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom day said, “The people of Delhi will pay tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh on his martyrdom day with this development. A special school to prepare students for entry into the armed forces will be built in Delhi. It will be named after Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh – ‘Shaheed Bhagat Singh Armed Forces Preparatory School’.”

The school will have a capacity of a total of 200 seats with 100 seats for 9th and 11th class each, said Kejriwal.

“Students will be prepared to join the NDA, Naval Forces, and other armed services in future,” the CM of Delhi said on the day when the AAP government in Punjab declared a holiday on March 23.

A 14-acre land in Jharoda Kalan in Delhi has been allotted for development of the special school.

Admissions would be open to all students in Delhi, and 18,000 applications have already been received, Kejriwal said.

Phase 1 of admissions is an aptitude test, which will take place on March 27 for class 9, and on March 28 for class 11.

Phase 2 will include interviews, after which the final 200 students will be enrolled.

Kejriwal said, “It is the 23rd of March tomorrow, the day of martyrdom of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. It was on this day in 1931 that our great freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were hanged to death by the British. All three of them sacrificed their lives for the country, to fight for the freedom of our people. On this occasion, the Delhi government is making a crucial announcement.”

On December 20, 2021, the Delhi Cabinet had taken a decision and declared that the state government will build a new and different type of school in Delhi, one where students will be trained in their early years to enlist in the armed forces.

He added, “The admission in this school and its facilities will be completely free for whoever wishes to join. It will be a residential campus, with separate hostels for boys and girls. State-of-the-art facilities will be available to all students. The way ideal training for officer-like qualities is provided in the armed forces to young men and women, similar qualities will be imbibed in these students; and hence they will be prepared for NDA, Naval Academy, and other armed services in future. Expert faculty will be employed for optimum training of these students, which will include retired veterans from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.”