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Parents usually hear about the Sainik School entrance from another family, and the details get passed on wrongly: the age limit, the marks for maths, whether girls can apply. The official source is NTA's AISSEE Information Bulletin. This post walks through what the 2026 bulletin says, shows how the section-wise qualifying rule works with sample marks, and ends with a practice plan for a Class 5 or Class 8 child.
What is AISSEE, and who runs it?
The All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admission to Class 6 and Class 9 in Sainik Schools, and to Class 6 in approved New Sainik Schools. The AISSEE-2026 Information Bulletin is the latest full bulletin on the NTA AISSEE page. For the next cycle, NTA's examination calendar to March 2027 lists the All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination on 31 January 2027, marked tentative. Check the new bulletin when it is released.
Who is eligible?
According to the 2026 bulletin:
Class 6: age 10 to 12 on 31 March 2026, that is, born between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2016, both days included. Girls are eligible.
Class 9: age 13 to 15 on 31 March 2026, born between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2013, and must have passed Class 8 from a recognised school at the time of admission. Girls are eligible subject to vacancies.
Each cycle shifts these dates by a year, so read them from the current bulletin.
What does the paper look like?
Both papers are multiple-choice questions on an OMR sheet, with no negative marking.
Class 6 (150 minutes, 300 marks):
Language: 25 questions, 2 marks each, 50 marks
Mathematics: 50 questions, 3 marks each, 150 marks
Intelligence: 25 questions, 2 marks each, 50 marks
General Knowledge: 25 questions, 2 marks each, 50 marks
Class 9 (180 minutes, 400 marks):
Mathematics: 50 questions, 4 marks each, 200 marks
Intelligence, English, General Science and Social Science: 25 questions each, 2 marks each, 50 marks each
Mathematics is exactly half the paper in both: 150 of 300, and 200 of 400. For Class 6 the paper can be taken in any of 13 languages listed in the bulletin; for Class 9 it is in English only.
How does the qualifying rule work?
The bulletin asks for a minimum of 25% in each section and 40% in the aggregate. For Sainik Schools it says this does not apply to SC and ST candidates; for approved New Sainik Schools it applies to all candidates. Here is a worked check for a Class 6 candidate with sample marks:
Language 30 of 50 (60%)
Mathematics 81 of 150 (54%)
Intelligence 28 of 50 (56%)
General Knowledge 11 of 50 (22%)
The total is 30 + 81 + 28 + 11 = 150 of 300, which is 50%, well above 40%. But General Knowledge is 22%, below 25%, so this candidate does not qualify.
What would be enough? 25% of 50 is 12.5, and marks come in steps of 2, so General Knowledge needs at least 14 marks, or 7 correct answers. In maths, 25% of 150 is 37.5 in steps of 3, so 39 marks, or 13 correct. Since there is no negative marking, leaving a question blank never helps.
Which mistakes do families make?
Ignoring the weak section. One low section fails the candidate however high the total.
Guessing the date of birth window. Use the exact dates in the current bulletin.
Leaving questions blank. With no negative marking, an attempt costs nothing.
Practising only on paper at home without timing. Class 6 has 125 questions in 150 minutes, about 1.2 minutes each.
A practice plan for the months before the exam
Read the syllabus appendix. The bulletin lists the topics for Class 6 and Class 9 in its appendices.
Do maths four days a week. Short daily sets of 10 to 15 questions, checked the same day.
Build General Knowledge in small doses. Ten minutes a day is enough to clear 25%.
Take one timed paper every two weeks with an OMR-style sheet, then sort errors by section.
Fill concept gaps as they show up. When a maths idea is the problem rather than speed, the Fermi Concept Library covers every concept in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and computing, so your child can reread the idea before practising again.
If your child is also thinking further ahead, our post on the NDA exam for science students explains a later route into the forces.
This week, download the AISSEE bulletin from the NTA page and mark your child's date of birth against the eligibility window.
