Sainik School Tilaiya, Jharkhand, India, prepares boys academically, physically and mentally for entry into the Defence Services and those who follow other paths, for responsible positions in other walks of life. The laying of the foundation stone of Sainik School was on 16 Sept 1963. The school was created by the efforts of the then Union Defence Minister, Late V K Krishna Menon, the Chief Minister from Bihar Late K B Sahay and scholar Principal Lt Col LEG Smith. Today it is top ranking nursery to the NDA. Located nearly 1 km from Tilaiya dam in the district of Koderma, Sainik School Tilaiya is 18 km away from the nearest rail head – Koderma on the Howrah – Delhi chord line nearer to Gaya. The Chhotanagpur Plateau and Tilaiya provide a backdrop to the school. Entrance to Sainik School Tilaiya is competitive and coordinated nationally by Sainik Schools Society. The entrance exam covers questions on Mathematics, English and Reasoning. Further, applicants go through interviews and medical examinations before being offered admissions.
Notable alumni
Prakash Jha - film producer, actor, director and screenwriter Known Movies
Chandrashekhar Prasad - student leader, former president of Jawaharlal Nehru Universitystudents' union, whose assassination led to large student protests in India.
On 16 September 1963 the foundation stone of Sainik School Tilaiya was laid. Since then, SST has been pursuing its goal of sending cadets of the Defence Forces through the NDA. Of the 600 officers that the school has sent to the NDA, some have reached the ranks of brigadiers and major generals. Major General S.P. Sinha was the first Tilaiyan to reach the rank of major general, while Lieutenant General Gyan Bhushan, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Jaipur-based South Western Command of the Indian Army, is the tilaiyan at the highest position in the Armed Forces.
Curriculum and Life
The academic instruction imparted at the school prepares students for the following examinations:
Scholarship holders take the NDA Entrance Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission during the +2 stage after passing Class XI. Since there is an emphasis on Science Stream in the NDA curriculum, Sainik Schools cater only to the science stream subjects in Classes XI and XII.
Houses{{Cite web|title=Boarding Houses Sainik School Tilaiya|url=http://www.sainikschooltilaiya.org/boarding-houses/|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-16}}
The students are arranged into houses which are groups with which they live for seven years. There are twelve houses: Magadh, Gautam, Aryabhatta, Vikram, Patliputra, Vaishali, Kunwar Singh, Mithila, Maurya, Ashoka, Nalanda and Rajgir. There are Intra-House competitions for almost every sport and co-curricular activity which turn fierce at times. At the end of each academic year, the best performing house is awarded "Cock House" trophy. Winning it thrice consequently makes the house "Rooster House". Kunwar Singh house is the only Rooster House as of 2018. There are two baby houses which host Class-VI cadets for a year when they join: Baidyanath and Parasnath.
Daily Routine{{Cite web|title=Daily Schedule Sainik School Tilaiya|url=http://www.sainikschooltilaiya.org/daily-schedule/|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-16}}
Cadets get up early in the morning for the physical training session which lasts for around 45 minutes. There's school assembly post breakfast on most days, commanded by the School Captain and reported to Principal, or Vice-Principal, or Administrative Officer, or Senior Master. The classes begin soon after assembly and go on till lunch. Post lunch, there's Games period where cadets play a wide variety of sports, including but not limited to, basketball, volleyball, football, hockey, swimming, squash, lawn tennis, table tennis and badminton. The preparatory classes are held in the evening where students do their own self-study. Lights out is fixed at around 11 pm when cadets go to bed.
Student Leaders
To inculcate leadership lessons, students are chosen from Class - XII for student representative positions. Major one of these are:
School Captain
School Adjutant
School Academic Captain
School Sports Captain
School Co-curricular Activities Captain
School Vice-captain
School Vice-Adjutant
School Academic Vice-Captain
School Sports Vice-Captain
School Co-curricular Activities Vice-Captain
The houses have their own House Captains.
Honour Code
“As a Tilaiyan, I will be truthful, Trustworthy, Honest and forthright under all circumstances, I will not lie, cheat, mislead or deceive any one, when I commit a mistake, I shall Honestly own up my own free will.”
