Thursday, March 13, 2014
Pune: The training methods employed at the National Defence Academy (NDA) have come in for criticism in a soon-to-be-published book, ‘Victory India-2’ compiled and edited by Col (retd) Vinay Dalvi.
Several retired defence officers, notably, Admiral (retd) Arun Prakash, former NDA commandant, Vice Admiral (retd) SCS Bangara and Maj Gen (retd) GD Bakshi have criticised the training methodology stating that cadets are being put through undue stress and strain. The forthcoming book is a sequel to the book, ‘Victory India’, which had critically examined the selection and training issues pertaining to the armed forces.
In his article in the book, Admiral (retd) Arun Prakash has said, “Many of the unethical traits learnt by a ‘smart’ cadet at an impressionable age, and practised in NDA for three years, mutate into serious character flaws in later life as senior officers.” According to the former Naval chief, the root of most ills of the officer corps lies in their selection and in the content/quality of training imparted to them in NDA and other service academies.
Vice Admiral (retd) S C S Bangara has written, “Cadets sprawled on their desks catching up with much needed rest, while the lectures are delivered to a ‘virtual’ class room, is an ugly reflection on the structure of the training curriculum and not on the cadets ability to cope.”
Maj Gen (retd) G D Bakshi in his article said that well over 60 per cent of the NDA syllabus is based on academics. “However, there has been a severe erosion in the quality of its civilian instructional staff which has affected the very tone and tenor of the institution and has had a negative impact on the quality of the output,” Maj Gen Bakshi said.
Speaking about the book, Col (retd) Vinay Dalvi, the editor, said that the authors, though belonging to the different arms of the forces, shared one thing in common: their deep concern for India’s future military leadership
