Chail (Himachal Pradesh), Apr 4 (IANS): The defence ministry has decided to introduce Chinese language from this academic session in one of its prestigious residential schools here, said an official Wednesday.

The students will be taught the Chinese language from this session, Rashtriya Military School (RMS) principal Arun Kulkarni told IANS Wednesday.

He said the Chail school is the first school among the country's five military schools where the foreign language has been introduced on a pilot basis.

"The Chinese language will be introduced from class VI to X and it will be compulsory for all the students," Kulkarni added.

"China is our powerful neighbour and...we must know what China is doing. For this, we have to master its language," the principal said, adding "learning Chinese at primary level is better than at later stage".

The Chail military school in Solan district, some 120 km from Chandigarh, is one of the oldest military residential schools in Asia.

"Though rooted deeply in its tradition and heritage, RMS Chail has been responsive to the demands of changing times," Col A.S. Paul, in charge education in Western Command, said.

The school has to its credit a number of officers, serving the nation in the armed forces and civil services.

The school traces its history to the King George Royal Indian Military College, which was established in Jalandhar in Punjab in February 1922 and laid the foundation for the other four military schools - Ajmer, Dholpur, both in Rajasthan, and Bangalore and Belgaum, both in Karnataka.

All these schools provide education to the wards of defence personnel and civilians with the aim of preparing them for their entry into the armed forces as officers.