Delhi JEE and NEET Free Coaching Scheme (Dakshana One-Year Scholarship)

What is the Delhi JEE and NEET Free Coaching Scheme?

Delhi JEE and NEET Free Coaching Scheme is the Directorate of Education's route for sending bright Class 12 Science students from Delhi government schools into a fully sponsored, one-year residential coaching programme for the engineering (JEE) and medical (NEET) entrance examinations. The Directorate of Education, School Branch, Old Secretariat, Delhi-110054 issued circular No. DE.23(667)/Sch.Br./2026 on 3 August 2026 directing all heads of government and government-aided schools to inform every Class 12 Science student about the programme.

The coaching itself is delivered by the Dakshana Foundation, a non-profit that has run free JEE/NEET/AIIMS coaching for government school students for over 19 years. The Delhi government's role is to identify, inform and push its own school students into the selection funnel. As the circular states in plain terms, the cost of the coaching programme is NIL; there is no charge to the student or to the school.

What the scholarship covers

• One full year of classroom coaching for JEE (Main and Advanced) or NEET.
• Free food for the entire year.
• Free hostel accommodation on the Dakshana Valley campus.
• Duration: one year, running alongside and after Class 12.
• Venue: Dakshana Foundation Campus, Village Kadus, Pune, Maharashtra.

Dakshana's own letter to principals records that, typically, around 80% of its scholars secure a seat at an IIT, NIT, AIIMS or a government medical college. Of 9,670 scholars sponsored so far, 4,063 have been admitted to IITs, 1,515 to NITs and 2,185 to government medical colleges. Those are the foundation's published figures, not a Delhi government claim.

Who is eligible for the Delhi JEE and NEET free coaching scheme?

You can be considered if all three conditions are met:

1. School, You are studying Class 12 Science during academic year 2026-27 at a government, government-aided or public school, and you will have appeared for your Class 12 board examination by May 2027. The Delhi circular routes the offer specifically through schools under the Directorate of Education.
2. Merit: Your aggregate of Maths and Science in Class 10 is above the published cut-off for your category and stream:

• Engineering, male: General 85%, EWS/OBC 80%, SC 70%, ST 65%, PD 55%
• Engineering, female: General 80%, EWS/OBC 75%, SC 65%, ST 60%, PD 50%
• Medical (all): General 80%, EWS/OBC 75%, SC 65%, ST 60%, PD 50%

3. Income, Your annual family income is less than Rs 3 lakh. There is no income criterion for PD (persons with disability) candidates.

You are not eligible if:

• You are in Class 11 or below, or in Class 12 Commerce or Humanities.
• Your family income is Rs 3 lakh a year or more and you are not a PD candidate.
• Your Class 10 Maths and Science aggregate falls below your category cut-off.
• You study at a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) or Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS), those students cannot apply through the open form and are instead invited directly on the basis of Class 12 Term 1 results.
• You cannot relocate to Pune for a year, since the programme is residential and has no Delhi-based alternative.

Note that all three criteria must be satisfied together. Clearing two of the three does not qualify a student for the JDST.

How to apply for the Delhi JEE and NEET free coaching scheme

1. Check eligibility and fill the application form at apply.scholarship.dakshana.org. The portal shows the eligibility check before the form.
2. Wait for the first shortlisting, which is done against the cut-off stated in the application form itself.
3. Fill the Dakshana Scholar Application (DSA) at scholarship.dakshana.org once you are shortlisted. Read the instruction document before filling it, because the mock test unlocks only after the DSA is submitted.
4. Install the Dakshana Scholarship Test Android app from the Google Play Store and take the mock test to get used to the interface.
5. Appear for the JDST 2027 in December 2026 at your assigned exam centre. Carry your own mobile phone. The test is taken online on the app.
6. Attend the interview and document verification after the second round of shortlisting based on JDST scores.
7. Accept the offer and join the one-year residential scholarship at Dakshana Valley, Pune.

How does the school route work in Delhi?

Delhi's Directorate of Education does not itself run an application form for this scheme. The 3 August 2026 circular instructs all Heads of Government and Government Aided Schools under the DoE, through DEL-E, to inform Class 12 Science students, and copies were marked to all Regional Directors of Education and District and Zonal Deputy Directors of Education to ensure compliance. The DDE (ASB) was directed to issue similar instructions to aided schools.

In practice this means three things for a student. First, your principal should already have the "Letter of Dakshana Foundation to School Principals" and the "Notification for Joint Dakshana Selection Test (JDST), 2027", both enclosed with the circular: ask for them. Second, no Delhi government portal login is needed; the application is on Dakshana's own portal. Third, if your school has not circulated the notice, you can still apply directly, because eligibility is defined by your school type, marks and income, not by a school nomination.

What is the JDST 2027 exam pattern and syllabus?

The Joint Dakshana Selection Test is a multiple-choice online test with four sections:

Marking is +5 for a correct answer, -2 for a wrong answer and 0 for an unattempted question. Engineering aspirants attempt Mathematics; medical aspirants attempt Biology.

The syllabus is drawn from standard Class 11 and 12 chapters. Physics covers rectilinear and projectile motion, relative motion, electrostatics, capacitance, current electricity, magnetism, electromagnetic induction, alternating current, and geometrical and wave optics. Chemistry covers mole concept, IUPAC nomenclature, solutions and colligative properties, electrochemistry, chemical kinetics, coordination compounds, haloalkanes and haloarenes, alcohols, ethers and phenols, aldehydes and ketones, and carboxylic acids. Mathematics covers relations and functions, inverse trigonometric functions, matrices and determinants, limits and continuity, applications of derivatives, indefinite and definite integration, differential equations, and vectors and 3-D. Biology covers cell biology, cell cycle, biomolecules, reproduction, genetics, evolution, human health and disease, and biotechnology.

Logical Reasoning is split into verbal topics, number and letter series, analogies, blood relations, direction sense, coding-decoding, syllogism, data sufficiency, statement and assumptions, and non-verbal topics such as image series, classification, picture analogies and rule detection.

How do I check my application status?

Status is tracked entirely on the Dakshana portal, not on any Delhi government site. Log in at scholarship.dakshana.org with the credentials created at application. The portal moves you through four visible stages: application submitted, shortlisted for DSA, invited for mock test and JDST, and finally selected for interview. Log in to the Android app only after the DSA is submitted, because the mock test is locked until then.

Why applications get rejected, and how to avoid it

• Marks shortfall — the single most common reason. The cut-off is on the aggregate of Maths and Science in Class 10, not overall percentage. Students often calculate their overall aggregate and apply wrongly.
• Income above Rs 3 lakh. This is family income, not the applicant's, and is verified at the document stage. Only PD candidates are exempt.
• Wrong school category, JNV and EMRS students who apply through the open form are removed, since they have a separate invitation route.
• Not appearing for the mock test, students who skip it often mishandle the app interface on test day and lose marks to negative marking.
• Missing category certificate, a student claiming the SC cut-off without a valid certificate is assessed at the general cut-off instead.
• No Android phone. The test cannot be taken on a browser or an iPhone. Arrange a phone before the test date.

Key dates

• 3 August 2026: Directorate of Education circular issued to all Delhi government and aided schools.
• Academic year 2026-27. The qualifying year of Class 12 Science study.
• December 2026; JDST 2027, tentative, per the notification.
• By May 2027, candidates must have appeared for the Class 12 board exam.

Help and grievance redressal

• Dakshana helpline: +91 77987 86405
• JDST queries: scholarship@dakshana.org only. The notification states explicitly that clarifications will be addressed on that address alone and asks candidates not to call or write to any other Dakshana address.
• FAQ: dakshana.org/jdst-faq
• Within Delhi: your school principal first, then the Zonal or District Deputy Director of Education, and finally the School Branch of the Directorate of Education at the Old Secretariat, Delhi-110054.

No fee is payable at any stage of this scheme. Any person asking for money to "arrange" a Dakshana seat or a JDST result is running a fraud and should be reported to the school and to the Directorate of Education.