Maharashtras first-ever preparatory coaching service institute for girls set to begin its first academic year in June 2023 in Nashik

Maharashtra’s first ever preparatory coaching service institute exclusively for girls is to begin its first academic year in June 2023 in Nashik. The Service Preparatory Institute (SPI), established on the lines of SPI for boys in Aurangabad, is aimed at motivating girls to join defence services. Registration for the entrance test concluded on March 12.

Girls who have cleared Class X will be eligible for admission to this institute which has a capacity of only 30 seats in the first year. The two-year course will prepare students for the NDA entrance examination and SSB interview. This will be alongside the mainstream higher secondary education, which is Class XI and XII, in the Science stream from a local junior college affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The training will include a robust physical and mental preparation.

Operations of the SPI Nashik will be overseen by the governing council of SPI Aurangabad for boys, which was the the first-of-its-kind. Set up in 1977, the state-run institute prepares boys physically, mentally and academically for entry into the National Defence Academy, (NDA) Khadakwasla.

The Nashik SPI’s experienced faculty will train cadets before and after the college hours in a series of lectures, training films and visits to various defence establishments, to expose them to life in the Armed Forces. Each cadet will get a minimum of two chances to appear in the UPSC (NDA) entrance examination while she is at the institute in September and April, in the second year of SPI training.

An official from the SPI Aurangabad office said, “The first ever entrance test for the Nashik SPI for girls will be held on April 9 in eight cities. Candidates will be shortlisted for a personal interview following which final admissions will be confirmed. The entrance test will be based on the curriculum of Classes IX and X of CBSE and Maharashtra State Board.”

Guardian minister of Nashik, Dada Bhuse, a former ex-servicemen welfare minister, had proposed the institute to be set up in Nashik. It was approved in the winter session of Maharashtra Assembly in Nagpur, and a fund of Rs 1.2 crore was sanctioned for the same.

The institute is set to begin its first session at the location which was formerly a military boys’ hostel on Trimbak road in Nashik.

The SPI, which works under the general administration department, is headed by a director who is a retired Armed Forces officer of the rank of Lt Colonel and above, or the equivalent ranks of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. The institute’s dedicated and experienced staff are mostly retired personnel from the Armed Forces, who train, discipline and be responsible for the welfare of cadets at all times, in a homely and caring atmosphere.