Growing up in villages tucked away in the remote recesses of the country and bereft of opportunities, many children let their dream of joining the defence forces wilt. This is true of poor students too, who fail to join regular schools and thus never make it to the National Cadet Corps (NCC), a stepping stone to the military services.
The NCC is trying to correct the situation through an innovative scheme. It has opened 37 Special National Integration Camps (SNIC) around India to ensure that children from weak backgrounds don’t miss out on a stint in the army.
“These camps are opened specially for children with weaker backgrounds,” said Lt Gen RK Karwal, director general of NCC. The SNICs have been operating since 2000 and have contributed many officers to the forces, he said. “Many of the children have joined other professions. A majority has done well in respective careers,’’ he said.
Children living in socially isolated places like Jammu, Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, and the northeast have little access to schools and colleges which decreases their chance of joining the NCC. “NCC used to pick up children only from schools and colleges which is why many children in those regions lost out,’’ said Karwal.
The NCC has also started programmes in schools and colleges to determine whether a student is inclined to be a cadet or not, he said. “If a cadet does not join the armed forces after NCC training, it does not work to his advantage. In such programmes we determine if the student really wants to join the NCC,’’ said Karwal.
The biggest advantage for the cadets is, those holding NCC C certificates get a preference in the forces. They do not have to appear for the written test in the Officers Training Academy (OTA). Quotas are reserved in the OTA and the Indian Military Academy for the NCC.
