Lucknow, Aug 20 (IANS): President Ram Nath Kovind will be the chief guest at the diamond jubilee celebrations of Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey Uttar Pradesh Sainik School in Lucknow on August 27.

During his visit to the country's pioneer institution, Kovind will unveil a six-feet tall bronze statue of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Sampurnanand.

The President will also inaugurate a 1,000-seater auditorium named after Sampurnanand, a scholar of Sanskrit and Hindi, and founder of the Sainik School in 1960.

He will lay the foundation stone of a girls' hostel that will accommodate 115 students. He will unveil a design project that aims at doubling the students' strength from existing 450 cadets to 900.

Under the project, foundation stones will be laid for the administrative block, cadet mess, academic block and a hostel.

The four events scheduled on August 27 will mark the completion of the school's diamond jubilee celebrations.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel, and Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma who holds the education portfolio, will also attend the events.

The year-long celebrations that kicked off in July 2020 saw festivities that marked 60 glorious years of the school.

Sainik School Principal Colonel Rajesh Raghav said, "The two projects for which the foundation stones will be laid are part of the expansion plans of the diamond jubilee year."

A stamp will be released to mark the occasion.

President Kovind will be on a four-day visit to Uttar Pradesh from August 26.

He will be the chief guest at the ninth convocation of the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow on August 26.

On August 28, Kovind will leave for Gorakhpur where he will lay the foundation of Ayush University and also inaugurate a hospital of the Gorakhnath University. He will return to Lucknow the same day.

On August 29, the President will visit Ayodhya by a special Presidential train and offer prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.