All India Sainik Schools entrance exam 2025: Check eligibility, format, important dates here

National Testing Agency (NTA) has notified the All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination (AISSEE)-2025.

AISSEE-2025 for admissions for the Academic Year 2025-26 covers (i) admission to Classes VI and IX of 33 Sainik Schools (ii) Admission to Class-VI level for 39 New Sainik Schools (NSS) and Class IX of approved 17 New Sainik Schools, which commenced their Academic Session in 2022-23.

Eligibility for admission to Class VI: Applicant should be between 10 and 12 years as on 31.03.2025. Admission for Girls is open in Class VI only in all Sainik Schools. Eligibility for admission to approved New Sainik Schools is given in the Information Bulletin. 

Eligibility for admission to Class IX: Applicant should be between 13 and 15 years as on 31.03.2025 and should have passed Class VIII, from a recognised school, at the time of admission. Admission for Girls is open for Class IX, subject to availability of vacancies. Age criteria is same as for boys as given in the Information Bulletin. 

AISSEE 2025 will be held in 190 cities across India. It will be a pen-and-paper mode examination (OMR Sheets-based) and will have multiple-choice questions.

Duration of examination Exam for admission to Class VI is 150 minutes (2 pm to 4.30 pm) and for admission to Class IX, 180 minutes (2 pm to 5 pm). Date of exam will be announced on NTA website later.  

For VI Std examination, Questions will be from Language, Mathematics, Intelligence and General Knowledge. For IX Std examination, Questions will be from Mathematics, Intelligence, English, General Science and Social Science. Syllabus is as prescribed by the Sainik Schools Society (SSS). Topics covered are given in Information Bulletin. Question papers of the earlier exams are available at www.nta.ac.in 

Medium of examination will be English for Class IX. For admission to Class VI, Medium of examination will English, Marathi, Odiya, Bengali, Hindi, Assamese, Punjabi, Tamil, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Urdu and Malayalam. Option of medium of Question Paper should be chosen while filling the Application Form and the same cannot be changed.

A candidate is eligible for admission to the existing Sainik Schools, if he/ she secures a minimum of 25% marks in each subject of the exam and 40% marks in aggregate of all the subjects of AISSEE-2025. Admission will be based on e- counselling as per the merit list of AISSEE2025, medical fitness and verification of requisite documents. However, no minimum marks are prescribed for candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe category. They will be admitted on the basis of inter-se merit at the Entrance Examination within their respective categories, subject to their meeting the eligibility requirements, medical fitness and verification of requisite documents.

Application: Application can be submitted online at https://exams.nta.ac.in/AISSEE/ latest by 5 pm on 13.01.2025. Information Bulletin is available at this link. Application form is common for admission to both Sainik Schools and approved New Sainik Schools. Only one application is to be submitted by a candidate. Examination fee is Rs 800/- (For SC/ST, it is Rs 650/-). Fee is the same whether a candidate applies for Sainik Schools/approved New Sainik Schools or for both. Fee can be paid online by 11.50 pm on 14.01.2025 through debit/credit card or internet banking/UPI

Correction of details filled in application Form can be done through the Website only, from 16.01.2025 to 18.01.2025. 

There are two channels of admission to approved NSS. Channel 1 is 40% route (Category ‘A’)- minimum 40% of the seats under the Sainik School stream in approved NSSs will be filled on the basis of the rank secured in the All India Merit List of AISSEE-2025. Domicile/Category are not considered for this Merit List (except for Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna Sainik School, Belagavi). Candidates can opt for any NSS in India, at the time of counselling. 60% route (Category ‘B’). Up to 60% of the seats in NSSs will be filled by those who are currently studying in any of the approved NSSs. They will be filled on the basis of rank secured in School-wise Merit List. Domicile/Category are not considered for this Merit List.

For more details, Information Bulletin may be seen.