As chief of the Army Staff, Gen Upendra Dwivedi, walked down the memory lane at his alma mater, Sainik School in  Rewa on Tuesday, it cast a throwback on several chiefs of the Armed Forces, besides other distinguished civilian alumni, who began their illustrious march from Sainik Schools, which are now on the cusp of transformation to meet contemporary educational and societal demands.“In a moment of pride and deep nostalgia, #GeneralUpendraDwivedi, #COAS, visited his alma mater – Sainik School Rewa, where his journey of discipline, courage and leadership first began. The #COAS laid a wreath at the school memorial, reviewed a Guard of Honour by the cadets and commended the faculty and cadets for upholding the finest traditions of the institution,” the Indian Army posted on its X handle.Walking once again through the corridors that shaped his character, the Chief shared his memories and inspired young cadets to lead with integrity, serve with dedication and uphold an unwavering commitment to the nation. The visit stood as a tribute to mentorship, gratitude, and the enduring legacy of Sainik Schools as the cradle of India’s future leaders, the post added.Distinguished AlumniBesides General Dwivedi, an Infantry officer who was commissioned into the Army in December 1984 and was appointed as the 29th Army Chief on June 30, 2024, the Current Chief of Navy Staff, Admiral Dinesh Tripathi is also from the same batch of the same class that passed out from the school in 1981.Admiral Tripathi was commissioned into the Indian Navy in July 1985 and assumed office as the 26th Navy Chief on April 30, 2024. He is the only Navy Chief to be publicly listed as a Sainik School alumnus.Former Army Chief’s Gen Dalbit Singh Suhag and Gen Deepak Kapoor are alumni of the Sainik School Chittorgarh in Rajasthan and Sainik School Kunjpura in Haryana, respectively. An Infantry officer, Gen Suhag was the Chief from August 2014 to December 2016, while Gen Kappor, a Gunner, headed the Army from October 2007 to March 2010.The 22nd and 24th Chiefs of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Air Chief Marshal PV Naik have studied in Sainik School Purulia in West Bengal and Sainik School Satara in Maharashtra, respectively.Other notable alumni in the defence fraternity include Dr G. Satheesh Reddy, former Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a MiG-21 pilot who had shot down a Pakistani F-16 in the aftermath of the IAF’s airstrike on terror camps in Balakot in 2019, and Major Sudhir Walia, a Special Forces officer to be decorated with the Kirti Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra. In addition, a large number of flag officers in the three services have studied in Sainik Schools.Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, chief minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio,  former chief minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Jarbom Gamlin, ex-governor of Reserve Bank of India, Duvvuri Subbarao, ex-Home Secretary, Anil Goswami ex-Director General border Security Force, Rakesh Asthana and former Director, AIIMS New Delhi, Dr Randeep Guleria are among civilian Sainik School alumni.Future CourseSainik Schools started coming up in 1961 as feeder institutes for the National Defence Academy and the Naval Academy, and for ensuring the removal of regional imbalances in the officer cadre of the Armed Forces.At present, there are 33 Sainik Schools in the country, which are being run as joint ventures of the Central and state governments. Besides, the government has launched a scheme to set up 100 new Sainik Schools in partnership with NGOs, private schools and state governments, out of which 86 such new schools have been approved.In addition, the Rashtriya Indian Military College, set up in 1922 by the British, and five other Rashtriya Military Schools, the first of which came up in 1925, have a similar mandate, but they are run solely by the Central Government. All three institutions come under the purview of the Ministry of Defence.In March, Parliament’s Departmentally Related Standing Committee on Defence recommended that Sainik School students should not just be nurtured for entry into the Armed Forces, but also be encouraged to pursue alternative career pathways aligned with their interests and aptitudes directly or indirectly related to defence research, innovation, design and medicine.“Accordingly, the Committee recommends that the Ministry of Defence, through these schools and colleges, adopt a multi-pronged approach to build awareness and instill a sense of purpose aligned with students’ interests from an early stage. Such an approach would ensure holistic development and enable students to emerge as responsible citizens and future leaders of the nation,” the Committee had said.The Committee also suggested that the curriculum related to modern technology and warfare such as the concepts associated with artificial intelligence, cyber and space warfare, autonomous systems like drone warfare, defence related directed energy and quantum technology, geopolitics of energy, etc. should be included so that students are in sync with the latest information and development in these fields.