Girl power

8220;They are taught this from the moment they enter our portals,8221; says Alka Vaidya, principal, RLMSS. 8220;When some of the girls cried because they were missing home, we told them that girls aspiring for a military career do not behave like this. In a month8217;s time, they got accustomed to our regimen.8221;

A regimen that8217;s really taxing. The girls are up by 5.45 a.m. After tea, they have physical training PT and drill for an hour. Then it8217;s breakfast and regular studies that extend to seven classes. At 1.20 p.m., after they are done with lunch, it is back to military training.

Unlike a regular residential school, that stresses on academic performance, PT plays a major role here. If four and a half hours are devoted to academics, three and a half are set aside for military training.

Says Lt. Col. retd. Anant Gokhale, school commandant, 8220;The girls are taught field and battle craft. As of now, they are capable of carrying a wounded soldier, know about basic weapons like the rifle and the light machine gun, which they will learn to fire when they reach Std. VIII. They have also learnt to give field signals 8211; communicating silently on a battlefield.8221;

Seems quite a lot for a nine or 10-year-old, but with their kind of motivation, it wouldn8217;t seem surprising. Says Mayura Gaikwad, studying in Std. VI, 8220;Ever since I read about Chhatrapati Shivaji, I have wanted to be a warrior. And this is the only place that will teach me.8221; Eleven-year-old Jhanvi Walimbe joined the RLMSS 8220;because I want to be someone different.8221;

The RLMSS owes its existence to former chief minister Manohar Joshi. He felt that though girls are admitted into the armed forces, no schools prepared them for it. So the Government of Maharashtra invited applications from various education societies, and out of the 26 that applied, the Maharashtra Education Society MES fitted the bill.

The RLMSS was established on July 7, 1997, and presently, is accommodated on the land belonging the MES. It has two classrooms, a dining hall, an office and dormitories that are presently insufficient in number, but plans are afoot to move the school to a 30-acre plot at Pirangut, on the outskirts of Pune. Says Vaidya, 8220;The Government plans to build a school that will house 700 girls and have classes right upto Std. XII. This Rs. 10-crore project will take two or more years to complete.8221;

Upon completion of their schooling here, the girls will have to graduate and apply for the armed forces via the Union Public Service Commission examination. And this, Vaidya feels, is where the hitch lies. 8220;We work so hard to motivate and train the girls for an armed forces career. If they have to go to a regular college after their Std. XII here, chances are that they might change their minds. We have approached the Government to accept the girls at the National Defence Academy itself and hope it will work out.8221;

Apart from the military training, the girls here follow the SSC syllabus and the medium of instruction is both English and Marathi. Says Vaidya, 8220;We teach science and mathematics in English and the rest in Marathi.8221;

With the focus on military training, do the girls here lag behind in academics? 8220;No way,8221; says Vaidya, 8220;We have had 100 per cent results last year. All the girls passed with more than 60 per cent marks; only two scored less than that.8221;

The girls have no holidays, since the school does not have adequate space. Says Vaidya, 8220;We cannot leave them by themselves with the matron on these premises since it is shared by the Bal Shikshan Mandir, so we plan some activity every weekend.8221;

Academics and military training are not all that the girls are taught here. Presently, they are learning to be eco-friendly. Every weekend, when they go on their treks, they pick up every plastic bag they see. This is then kept in school and later given to a ragpicker. They have also learnt one adhyay of the Bhagvad Gita and a Maruti Stotra.

Says Vasudev Tokikar, whose daughter, Vaishnavi, is studying here, 8220;More than anything else, they learn about accountability and responsibility. Simple things like wanting to learn swimming or even studying; no one will goad them into it. They know that their achievements are a result of their own efforts. And that helps in the long run.8221;

In fact, some parents have actively sought this stress on physical training. Like Manohar Netragaonkar, who chose this school for his daughter, Shweta, 8220;I like their emphasis on health. Regular schools unnecessarily stress on academics, not PT. But if a child is basically healthy, getting good marks is no big deal.8221;

In a society that demands femininity from its women; whose marriage market stresses on homely8217; girls, do these parents fret for their daughters. Says Jyoti Bhave, mother of Adhishri, 8220;I am not worried about her marriage. A girl can sit at home and still not learn cooking or other homely8217; skills. The interest matters. Adhishri is interested in aeroplanes and becoming an Air Force pilot. It would be a crime to make her do things she is not interested in. Marriage will happen if it has to.8221;

Meanwhile the students of the RLMSS are busy perfecting their assault formation.