The idea of encouraging the growth of Secondary Schools with a common syllabus and medium of instruction for the benefit of the children of Central Government employees, including defence personnel liable to frequent transfers was first approved in November, 1962, by the Government of India. Consequently, Central Schools Organisation was started as a unit of the Ministry of Education, now Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Govt. of India, so that the education of their children was not disrupted due to their frequent and sudden transfers in public interest. Initially, 20 Regimental Schools, then functioning at places having large concentration of defence personnel, were taken over as Central Schools during the academic year 1963-64.
 
In 1965, an autonomous body, namely, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan was registered as a Society under Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 which took over the task of opening and managing the Central Schools, henceforth called Kendriya Vidyalayas.
Over the years, the number of Kendriya Vidyalayas are growing in numbers nearing the 1000 mark. The Kendriya Vidyalayas have a four-fold mission, namely, to cater to the educational needs of children of transferable Central Government employees including Defence and Para-military personnel by providing a common programme of education; to pursue excellence and set the pace in the field of school education;to initiate and promote experimentation and innovations in education in collaboration with other bodies like the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) etc. and to develop the spirit of national integration and create a sense of 'Indianness' among children.