Entrance Test to be held on Oct 2
Disowns schools running under its name in J&K, elsewhere
Abrar A. Mattoo
SRINAGAR, Sept 12: The Doon School Dehradun, one of the most elite and prestigious boarding schools in India announced a fully funded pre entrance scholarship exam for the class sixth and seventh underprivileged but exceptional boys of Jammu and Kashmir to study up to class 12th at its one and only campus, situated in Dehradun India.
This pre entrance scholarship test will be held on October 2 in Srinagar and the eligible students can apply, by visiting the school website www.doonschool.com/dsse.
Addressing a press conference here at Hotel Radisson on Sunday the members of the school board also disowned the schools that are running under its title and name in Srinagar and elsewhere.
The school authorities said that there is only one ‘The Doon School’ and that is located at Dehradun; all the other schools running under the name of Doon have no affiliation, whatsoever, with their school.
Pertinently, while giving away the details about the scholarship, Arjun S. Batwal, Head of Development and Alumni Relationship, said that for the students in the Kashmir region, the screening test for the scholarship would be held on 2 October 2021 at Srinagar.
He further said that “the venue for the entrance test in Srinagar would be announced soon by School.
The fee for the scholarship entrance test is Rs. 100, and to apply, the students must be presently studying in either class 6th or class 7th.
After clearing the screening test in Srinagar, the qualifying candidates, along with a single guardian, would be sponsored (Full Ride) by the school to travel to Dehradun, where the students would be required to appear for The Doon School Entrance Test, which would include both a written and an interview part.
Once the students have finally qualified all the rounds of the pre and post scholarship exams, they would be required to join the boarding school at its one and only campus at Dehradun, India.
Established in 1935, The Doon School is one of India’s finest schools, with the credit of calling some of the most refined and intellectually sophisticated personalities of India as its alumnae, including Rajiv Gandhi, the former prime minister of India.
The Doon School is a full boarding school for boys only aged between 12-18. The school sits atop a beautiful seventy-acre plot, which has a vast range of flora, fauna, and birdlife. The school is probably the only ‘All India’ school with applications from almost every state each year, as well as from Indian families overseas.
While speaking about his experience and the contribution of the school towards Kashmir valley, Wajahat Habibullah, ex-IAS officer and an alumnus of the school said, “Kashmir would continue to build The Doon school and The Doon school would continue to build Kashmir”.
It’s pertinent to mention here that the then Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh has significantly contributed to the establishment of the school, which resulted in, one of the five houses in the school being named as Jammu and Kashmir house. The Maharaj’s son, Dr. Karan Singh is also an alumnus of the school.
“Apart from a flexible curriculum, the school offers a score of extracurricular activities including exchange programs to foreign countries for the students.
Since I am an alumnus of the school, I myself have gone to Germany on an exchange program.
Similarly, if a student who has entered the school on a meritocratic basis and enjoys the scholarship privileges, all his extracurricular activities, including the exchange program, would be funded by the school,” Mr. Arjun added while speaking with Kashmir Despatch on the sidelines of the press conference.
