Scholarship to Disabled Students

What is the Scholarship to Disabled Students scheme in Gujarat?

Scholarship to Disabled Students is an education scholarship run by the Directorate of Social Defence under the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Government of Gujarat. It is one of the ten Divyang welfare schemes the Directorate lists, alongside free ST bus travel for persons with disabilities, the assistive aids scheme, the Sant Surdas Yojana, the disability marriage assistance scheme and the Niramaya health insurance scheme.

Scholarship to Disabled Students covers the whole education ladder: from Standard 1 right up to master's and professional courses, and pays a fixed annual amount for 10 months of the academic year. Rates step up as the level of study rises, and hostellers get more than day scholars from Standard 9 onwards, because the scheme recognises that living away from home costs more.

An important clarification for readers who search for this scheme: the office of the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, also under the same department, states on its own site that it functions as a court and does not operate schemes. Applications go to the District Social Security Officer, not to the Commissioner.

How much is the Scholarship to Disabled Students?

All figures are annual and cover 10 months of the academic year. The reader allowance of Rs 1,500 is paid in addition to the course-level rate, so a blind student in a professional course living in a hostel can draw Rs 4,500 plus Rs 1,500.

Who is eligible for the Scholarship to Disabled Students?

You can apply if:

• You have a disability of 40 per cent or more, certified by the competent medical authority, and can produce the medical certificate.
• You scored 40 per cent or more marks in your previous examination.
• You are regular in attendance at your educational institution, which the institution certifies.
• You are studying anywhere from Standard 1 to a master's or professional course in Gujarat.

You are not eligible, and cannot apply, if:

• Your disability is certified below 40 per cent.
• Your marks in the previous exam were below 40 per cent.
• You are irregular in attendance at your school or college.
• You have discontinued your studies.
• You already receive another government scholarship. The scheme rules list this as an express bar, so a student drawing a central or another state scholarship must choose one.

The 40-40 rule is the shorthand worth remembering: 40 per cent disability and 40 per cent marks. Both must hold, and both are checked every year.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Scholarship to Disabled Students

1. Get or renew your disability certificate from the competent medical authority, confirming 40 per cent or more disability.
2. Collect your previous year marksheet, bonafide certificate, Aadhaar card and bank passbook. If you live in a hostel, get the hostel certificate too.
3. Register on digitalgujarat.gov.in with your mobile number and create a citizen login, or ask your school or college principal to submit on your behalf.
4. Open the scholarship section, select the scheme for students with disabilities, and choose the correct level; Standard 1 to 8, Standard 9 to 12 and ITI, bachelor's, professional or master's, and whether you are a day scholar or hosteller.
5. Fill in your personal, academic, disability and bank details, then upload scanned copies of all documents.
6. Submit the application and note the application number shown on screen.
7. Have the institution verify and forward the application to the District Social Security Officer, who is the approving authority for this scholarship.
8. Track the application on the same Digital Gujarat login until the status shows sanctioned, then check your bank account for the credit.

How do I check my scholarship status?

Log in to digitalgujarat.gov.in with the credentials used for the application and open the application track or history section. The portal shows whether the file is pending with the institution, pending with the District Social Security Officer, sent back for correction, sanctioned or rejected.

If the status has not moved for a long period, contact your District Social Security Officer first, since that office holds the approval power. For issues the district cannot resolve, the Directorate of Social Defence in Gandhinagar can be reached on +91 79 23256309.

Why disabled students' scholarship applications get rejected

• Disability certificate showing less than 40 per cent, or an expired certificate.
• Marks below 40 per cent in the previous examination.
• Attendance shortfall recorded by the institution.
• Study discontinued during the academic year.
• Another government scholarship already drawn for the same year.
• Bank account not in the student's own name, not Aadhaar-seeded, or carrying a name mismatch.
• Hostel rate claimed without a hostel certificate, which gets the claim reduced to the day-scholar rate rather than rejected outright.
• Documents uploaded illegibly, which sends the file back for correction.

Where a disability certificate has an expiry date, renew it before the academic year starts. A certificate that lapses mid-year is a common and entirely avoidable cause of a stalled file.

What other Gujarat schemes can a disabled student combine this with?

Scholarship to Disabled Students bars a second government scholarship, but it does not bar the non-scholarship benefits the Directorate of Social Defence runs for persons with disabilities. A student with a 40 per cent or higher disability certificate can normally hold this scholarship alongside:

• Free ST bus travel for persons with disabilities on Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation services, which directly cuts the cost of commuting to school or college.
• Divyang Sadhna Sahay Yojana, the assistive aids and appliances scheme: relevant for students who need a hearing aid, a mobility aid or a low-vision device to study.
• Two-wheeler purchase assistance for persons with orthopaedic disability, which matters most for college students travelling independently.
• Niramaya health insurance, the health cover scheme listed by the same Directorate.
• Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension and the Sant Surdas Yojana, which are income-support rather than education schemes.
• Free UPSC and GPSC training for disabled students, listed on the e-Samaj Kalyan portal under the Directorate of Social Defence; useful after graduation.
• Loan schemes of the Gujarat State Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation, including a 100 per cent state-financed loan scheme, for self-employment after study.

Read the bar carefully before assuming a clash. The rule excludes students receiving another government scholarship, not students receiving a pension, an aid, a travel concession or an insurance benefit. Where two scholarships genuinely overlap, for example a central pre-matric or post-matric scholarship for students with disabilities; compare the annual amounts and take the higher one, since drawing both is an express ground for this scholarship to be refused and for recovery of what has been paid.

Help and grievance contact

• Directorate of Social Defence: Block 16, Dr Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Sector 10, Gandhinagar 382010
• Phone: +91 79 23256309
• Scheme page: sje.gujarat.gov.in/dsd
• Application portal: digitalgujarat.gov.in
• District level: the District Social Security Officer sanctions and pays this scholarship
• Rights and grievances: the office of the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Wing D-1, Block No. 2, Karmayogi Bhavan, Sector 10, Gandhinagar, +91 79 23256749, functions as a quasi-judicial authority under the disability law but does not itself run schemes

Applying is free. No fee is payable to any school, college or agent to have a scholarship application forwarded.