Sainik School, RIMC and military school entrance dates for the coming season

Parents looking at military and residential schooling have five dates to keep, all of them now published in the testing agency's calendar. These examinations are taken in Class 5, 6, 8 or 9 depending on the school, and the application windows open months ahead of the test.

The dates

• Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun: 6 December 2026
• Rashtriya Military Schools: 13 December 2026
• Army Cadets College: 4 January 2027
• SHRESHTA (NETS): 10 January 2027
• All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination: 31 January 2027

What each one is for

RIMC is a small, highly selective feeder to the National Defence Academy, admitting a handful of cadets twice a year. Rashtriya Military Schools are a network of CBSE schools run by the Army with a similar purpose and a wider intake. Sainik Schools are the largest of these systems and now include a substantial number of girls' seats. Army Cadets College is a different animal altogether: a route for serving soldiers and eligible candidates into a commission.

SHRESHTA, the Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas, is not a military scheme at all. It places meritorious Scheduled Caste students from families below a defined income threshold into well-resourced private residential schools at government expense, and it is badly under-known relative to what it offers.

What to do now, not in December

Every one of these examinations has an application window that closes weeks before the test, and several require documents (caste, income, domicile, date-of-birth proof) that take time to obtain from a district office. If your child is in the eligible class for any of these, start the paperwork this month. The dates above are tentative and confirmed through each examination's own notification, so watch the agency's portal for the bulletin rather than relying on the calendar alone.

CareerBox News Desk, reporting on the Examination Calendar up to March 2027 published by the National Testing Agency. Official portal: nta.ac.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.