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Apprentice Training School EME, Bhopal
The Apprentice Training School, EME (ATS) was one of Indian Army’s institutions that trained efficient craftsmen to become its technical backbone in the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) (renamed as the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers later on) that maintains all of the available war machinery. It was established in 1966 and eventually closed down in 1981.
History
India’s strategic analysis and reviews of post Indo-China War of 1962 revealed the deficiencies in advanced weaponry and the technical expertise to maintain it. With this, the then Government of India decided to equip the Army well and make it technically self-sufficient with competent and capable technicians and craftsmen. To meet the requirement of advanced craftsmanship, modelling on the lines of the British Army Apprentice College, the ATS was established in 1966 as a part of its combat engineering branch called the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME). The ATS started training young boys as Apprentices in the year 1968. Major General DK Sengupta, the then, Director General of EME, commenced the training activities in ATS near the EME Training Centre in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh with the aim of “providing to the Indian Army efficient and vibrant craftsmen who will become its technical back bone to support all available war machinery”. On successful completion of three years of training similar to diploma courses in engineering, all the trainees were to pass out with the rank of Warrant Officers (WO). But ostensibly due to administrative difficulties in inducting on inducting youngsters in higher ranks among older military personnel, the original plan of granting the rank of WO to them was dropped and Apprentices passed out as Craftsman (Cfn), the entry level rank in EME.
The technical and military trainings of the 1st course of Apprentices started on 21st May 1968 at ATS in Sultania Infantry Lines of Bhopal. Out of about 300 candidates who qualified in the written entrance examination and reported for personal interview, only about 100 were finally selected by a Board of Officers. Approximately 3000 Apprentices had since passed out of ATS between 1968 and 1981; in the almost 12 years of its existence. The technical training specialisations that were allotted to the Apprentices were Telecommunication (TCM), Instruments (IM), Electrical, Automobile (VM), Armament (Gun Ftr), Small Arms (Armr) and Mechanical (Tnr). The intake periodicity of the batches (courses) of the trainees was six-monthly. The ATS started with just one company of trainees in 1968 but by the time the 10th course joined, the number of companies rose to four. The last course to pass out was 23rd which had 125 Apprentices. Towards the end, in January 1979, the main body of ATS was moved from its original location of Sultania Infantry Lines to 3 EME Centre in Bairagarh, Bhopal, where regular EME’s technical craftsmen were being trained. Apprentices of the 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd courses were shifted to this new location. Maybe to speed up the process of the closure of ATS, all Apprentices of 22nd and 23rd courses were allotted TCM specialisation and were moved to The Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME) in Secunderabad, currently in Telangana, for the remaining part of training. The 21st course of ATS completed its training in 3 EME Centre itself on 31 May 1981. With that the curtains were drawn on ATS and it was finally closed down in 1981. The obvious reason for winding up Apprentice Training School EME, Bhopal was the mismatch between the aspirations of better qualified, selected and trained youngsters who expected to enter the Army in a higher position matching them and what the Army could offer them. This mismatch existed despite what the Artificer Apprentices selected and trained in Indian Navy in a similar way got. The results were the desperation among the alumni of ATS to strive for something better which a large number of them did by becoming Commissioned Officers in the Indian Army and reaching superior positions as civilians. Brigadier Rumel Dahiya, the Sword of Honour winner of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in 1976, is one such Apprentice from the 1st Course. About 400 Ex-Apprentices became Commissioned Officers in the Indian Army itself. Among them, there had been one Major General (Major General VPS Bhakuni, VSM) and about a dozen Brigadiers.
Campus
Apprentice Training School EME, Bhopal existed on the two hills and adjoining the plains of Sultania Infantry Lines. It had a large academic building and even larger technical training area. The military training area comprised of many acres of land.
Selection and training
Apprentices of ATS were selected after their matriculation (10th grade) through an all-India written examinations, medical fitness checks, aptitude tests and personal interviews by a Board of Officers. The training was of three years, with the apprentices with Telecommunication specialisation being sent to after one and a half years to MCEME, Secunderabad and the Apprentices of Instrument and Armament specialisations being sent to EME School, Vadodara (Gujarat) after two years for higher training.
Curriculum
The ATS curriculum included both technical and military trainings. After a one year general technical training on a number of ancillary trades and completing the basic military training, the Apprentices were allocated specialisations for the training of the next two years. The Institution of Engineers (India) has recognised the 3 year Apprenticeship course of ATS equivalent to Diploma in Engineering, for their further studies.
Alumni
Many of the alumni of ATS have achieved higher career progressions both in the Army and as civilians. The following is the list of some of the Apprentices who made to higher ranks as commissioned officers in the Army:
1. Brigadier Rumel Dahiya - 1st Course (the 1976 winner of the coveted Sword of Honour of Indian Military Academy)
2. Brigadier Narayanan - 1st Course
3. Brigadier NA Subramanian, YSM - 1st Course
4. Brigadier Valappil George - 10th Course
5. Brigadier KS Chauhan - 13th Course
6. Brigadier Deo Raj Singh, SM - 15th Course
7. Brigadier RG Gowamy - 16th Course
8. Brigadier Nishakant Rawat - 18th Course
9. Brigadier MD Chacko - 19th Course
10. Major General VPS Bhakuni, VSM - 20th Course
11. Brigadier RS Vashisht - 23rd Course
Over a dozen of the Apprentices have been decorated with military awards like Shaurya Chakra (SC) Yudh Seva Medal (YSM), Vishist Seva Medal (VSM) and Sena Medal (SM).