Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 16 October 2025
To instil patriotism, discipline, and unity among school students, the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India, organizes annual school band competitions across the country.
As part of this nationwide initiative, the State-Level School Band Competition for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was recently organized by Samagra Shiksha, UT Mission Authority at GSSS Boys, Port Blair. The event aimed to select the best school band teams in both Boys’ and Girls’ categories to represent the Union Territory at the Southern Zonal Level Band Competition in Telangana, where top performers will be shortlisted for the national-level contest.
A total of seven teams — three in the Boys’ category and four in the Girls’ category — participated in the event. Their performances were evaluated by eminent Band Masters from the Navy, Army, and Police Departments, who assessed the teams on musical proficiency, coordination, and discipline.
In the Girls’ Band category, GSSS Girls emerged as the winner, while GSSS Model Sri Vijaya Puram and GSSS School Line secured the second and third positions, respectively. In the Boys’ Band category, SSS VKV Lamba Line bagged the first position, followed by GSSS Boys and SSS Nirmala, which stood second and third.
Addressing the valedictory function as the Chief Guest, Dr. Jatinder Sohal, Director (Education) In-charge, lauded the participants for their dedication and artistic talent. He congratulated the winners and encouraged them to perform with the same zeal at the forthcoming zonal and national competitions. Dr. Sohal also presented trophies to the winning teams.
Earlier, the competition was inaugurated by Mr. Gyansheel Dubey, Head of Office / DDE (Academic), who motivated the young participants to perform with passion and bring laurels to the Islands at higher levels of the competition.
