Financial Assistance for Education for Construction Workers (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu)

What is the education assistance for construction workers' children?

Financial Assistance for Education is a welfare scheme of the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, run by the Labour and Employment Department of the UT Administration. The Board lists it as Form VII among the welfare schemes for Dadra and Nagar Haveli; the Daman and Diu scheme pages of the same Board list the education application as Form X, so it is worth confirming the form number at your own district office.

According to the Board's scheme page, the Board may sanction financial assistance for up to two children of a member of the fund. Giving financial support for children's education is one of the functions the BOCW (RE and CS) Act, 1996 assigns to every state welfare board, alongside pensions, medical expenses and house-construction advances.

How much education assistance is paid?

The competitive-exam head is the most generous and the least understood. The scheme page states that students of the higher school classes, and those who passed Class XII not less than 2 years prior to the claim period but are preparing for competitive exams, are eligible for it. Because 75% of the cost is covered up to Rs 50,000 a year, a coaching course costing Rs 66,000 would be supported to the full ceiling.

The graduation-level head is also worth reading carefully: it combines a monthly Rs 1,000 with reimbursement of tuition and hostel fees, which for a residential engineering or medical course is usually the larger of the two amounts.

Who is eligible for the education assistance?

Your child can receive assistance if:

• You are registered as a beneficiary of the BOCW Welfare Fund in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman or Diu, and your subscription is current.
• You were aged 18 to 60 and had done building or other construction work for not less than 90 days in the preceding 12 months at the time of registration.
• The child is one of your first two children. The scheme covers up to two children per member.
• The child is studying in Class 1 or above, in a recognised school, college, university or board, or is preparing for competitive exams within the window described above.

Your child is not eligible if:

• You are not a registered beneficiary of the Board.
• The claim is for a third or later child.
• Your membership has lapsed for non-payment of subscription and has not been revived. Form VII asks directly whether the membership has been revived and, if so, for the period of revival.
• You are availing benefits under the ESIC Act, 1948 or the EPF and MP Act, 1952, which the Board has excluded from similar benefits under the BOCW welfare schemes.

What documents does Form VII need?

Form VII collects the following, so gather them before you start:

• BOCW registration location and number, and the beneficiary's name, date of birth, age, gender and marital status.
• Mobile number, Aadhaar number, temporary and permanent address.
• Details of children; name, date of birth and age of child 1 and child 2.
• Details of the school, college, university or board, the name and address of the school, the class, the principal's number and the school contact number, for each child.
• Payment details: date of payment of first subscription, date of payment of last subscription, number of instalments paid, total subscription paid, and whether the membership has been revived.
• Bank details — account number, bank name, branch and IFSC code.

Carry a bonafide certificate from the institution and the fee receipts, which are what the office uses to verify the class and the amounts being reimbursed.

How to apply for education assistance

1. Get a bonafide certificate for each child from the school or college, showing the class or course, and collect the current fee receipts. For a competitive-exam claim, get the coaching institute's fee receipt and its enrolment letter.
2. Collect Form VII from your district labour office, or open the "Financial Assistance for Education" page on bocwddd.in, which reproduces the form fields and offers an online submission form. In Daman and Diu, ask for Form X.
3. Fill in the beneficiary, children and institution sections in full, including the principal's number and the school contact number. The office uses these to verify enrolment.
4. Complete the subscription section with the dates of first and last subscription, the number of instalments and the total paid, plus your bank account number, bank name, branch and IFSC code.
5. Submit Form VII with the necessary documents to the Member Secretary (BOCWWB) through your district labour office, and keep the acknowledgement.
6. Follow up with the office. The Board, if satisfied, sanctions the benefit, which is credited to the bank account given on the form.

How to register with the Board first

1. Confirm you are aged 18 to 60 and have been engaged in building or other construction work for not less than 90 days in the preceding twelve months.
2. Apply in the prescribed registration form to the officer authorised by the Board for your district, with the prescribed documents.
3. Pay the registration fee of not more than Rs 50.
4. Keep paying the subscription; Form VII asks for the number of instalments paid and the total subscription, and a broken record slows the file down.

How to check your application status

The Board does not publish an online status tracker on bocwddd.in. Follow up at the district labour office where you filed the form, quoting your BOCW registration number, the date of filing and the file number. Because education claims recur each academic year, it is worth asking the office at the same time what documentation they expect for the next year's renewal.

Why education assistance claims get rejected

• Third child. The two-child limit is applied on the face of the scheme.
• No bonafide certificate, or a certificate that does not state the class or course, the amount payable depends entirely on the class.
• No fee receipts for a tuition, hostel or competitive-exam reimbursement, each of which is paid against documented cost.
• Competitive-exam claim outside the eligible window, for example filed more than the permitted period after passing Class XII.
• Lapsed membership or unpaid subscription instalments.
• Wrong bank details, which hold up the credit after sanction.
• Overlap with ESIC or EPF benefits, expressly excluded by the Board.

Where to get help

• Dadra and Nagar Haveli: BOCW Welfare Board, Old Circuit House Building, opposite Bal Bhawan, Silvassa 396230. Phone 0260-2642374, email labour-dnh@nic.in
• Daman: Vidhyut Bhavan, Kachigam, Daman 396215. Phone 0260-2261059, email lelidaman@gmail.com
• Diu: Labour and Employment Office, Collectorate, Diu 362520. Phone 02875-252444

The Board's website carries a feedback form and an RTI page for written grievances. Filing the education assistance form is free, and no agent is authorised to charge for arranging a sanction.