Mukhyamantri Saksham Merit Based Scholarship Scheme (Classes 9 to 12)

What is the Mukhyamantri Saksham Merit based Scholarship Scheme?

Mukhyamantri Saksham Merit based Scholarship Scheme is a Haryana state scholarship for students studying in classes 9 to 12 in government schools. The School Education Department, Chandigarh, issued the notification under No. 12/3-2021 Exam(1), and the Directorate of School Education circulated it to all District Education Officers and District Elementary Education Officers on 23 February 2022.

The scheme's stated object, in the words of the notification itself, is to motivate more and more students to become high achievers in the Haryana government schools. That framing matters. Saksham is not a welfare transfer keyed to caste or income like the SC, BC-A and BPL stipends that run alongside it. It is a merit instrument, and the notification records that the State Government grants the scholarship at different rates to students of all categories studying in classes 9 to 12 in government schools, as per the extant scheme guidelines.

Administration sits with the Elementary Education Department within the School Education Department, and the notification is explicit that the scheme is implemented through the Principal or Head Master of Government Schools. The recurring expenditure is met from the Consolidated Fund of Haryana, which is what made the Section-7 Aadhaar notification necessary in the first place.

Saksham was added to an existing family of schemes. In August 2021 the Directorate of School Education notified nine state scholarship schemes for students of classes 9 to 12 in government schools, covering SC, BC-A and BPL stipends, the Education Encouragement for Excellence award, the Punjabi second-language award, free bicycles for SC students, the freedom fighters' grandchildren incentive and the state merit scholarship with a free laptop. Saksham followed as a further state scheme in the same series, and the Haryana State DBT Portal now lists it under the Secondary Education department as "Mukhyamantri Saksham Scheme merit based Scholarship for students studying in classes 9th to 12th".

One point of confusion is worth clearing early. Mukhyamantri Saksham is not Saksham Yuva. Haryana runs a separate, well-known programme called Saksham Yuva for educated unemployed youth under a different department. The scheme on this page is a school scholarship for children in classes 9 to 12.

Who is eligible for the Mukhyamantri Saksham scholarship?

A student qualifies if all of the following hold:

• The student is studying in a Government School in Haryana. The notification names government schools specifically and repeatedly.
• The student is in class 9, 10, 11 or 12.
• The student meets the merit condition in the scheme guidelines. Saksham is described throughout as a merit based scholarship, so the preceding examination result is what decides the award.
• The student furnishes proof of an Aadhaar number or undergoes Aadhaar authentication.
• The student has a bank account capable of receiving a DBT credit.

The scheme is open to students of all categories. There is no caste restriction and no separate income test written into the notification, which sets Saksham apart from the SC, BC-A and BPL stipends that operate in the same schools.

Students who cannot apply or are not eligible:

• Students of private, unaided or privately managed schools. The notification covers government schools only.
• Students in classes 1 to 8. The scheme is defined for classes 9 to 12.
• Students who do not meet the merit threshold in the scheme guidelines. Being enrolled is not by itself enough — this is a merit scholarship, not a universal entitlement.
• Students who have neither an Aadhaar number nor an Aadhaar enrolment application. Section 7 makes Aadhaar a condition of receiving the benefit.
• Students who have left the government school system during the year.

How much does the Saksham scholarship pay?

The notification states that the State Government grants the scholarship at different rates to students of all categories, as per the extant scheme guidelines. The Directorate of School Education has not published a public class-wise or category-wise rate table for Saksham on its website, and the Haryana State DBT Portal lists the scheme without amounts. This guide therefore does not quote a figure.

The reliable route is to ask the school. Because the notification places implementation with the Principal or Head Master, the school office holds the current guidelines and can tell a family both the rate and the merit threshold in force for the session. Treat any rate quoted by a private website or an agent as unverified until the school confirms it.

What documents are required for the Saksham scholarship?

How to apply for the Mukhyamantri Saksham scholarship

Mukhyamantri Saksham has no student application portal. It is implemented through the school. These are the steps that actually place a student on the payment list.

1. Sort out Aadhaar first. If the student has an Aadhaar number, give a self-attested copy to the school office. If not, the notification requires an application for Aadhaar enrolment, made with the consent of the parents or guardians, before registering for the scheme. Enrolment centres are listed on uidai.gov.in.
2. Confirm the previous class result is recorded correctly. Saksham is merit based, so the marks and division entered in the school record are what decide both eligibility and rate.
3. Ask the school office for the current Saksham guidelines. The Principal or Head Master implements the scheme and holds the merit threshold and rate for the session. This also tells you whether the student clears the bar.
4. Submit an Aadhaar-seeded bank account. Give the school a photocopy of the passbook page showing name, account number and IFSC code, and ask the bank to confirm the account is seeded with Aadhaar.
5. Let the school forward the list. The Principal or Head Master compiles eligible students and sends the details onward for release through DBT/PFMS.
6. Get written acknowledgement and track the credit. Ask the school to record that the student's name was sent and on what date, then watch the bank passbook.

No fee applies at any stage, and no agent can add a student to the list.

How the Aadhaar requirement works in practice

Saksham is one of the Haryana school schemes notified under Section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, as amended by the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019. The department's stated reasoning is that using Aadhaar as an identity document simplifies delivery, brings transparency and efficiency, and lets beneficiaries receive entitlements without producing multiple documents to prove identity.

Two provisions in the notification matter to families:

• A child who wants the benefit must furnish proof of possession of the Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication.
• A child who does not possess an Aadhaar number, or has not yet enrolled, must make an application for Aadhaar enrolment, subject to the consent of parents or guardians, before registering for the scheme, and should visit an Aadhaar enrolment centre from the list on the UIDAI website.

In short, no Aadhaar means no payment, but the notification provides a defined route in rather than an outright bar.

How to check the status of your Saksham scholarship

1. Ask the school office whether the student's name was included in the list sent for the session, and on what date.
2. Update the bank passbook or check the bank's SMS alerts for a DBT credit.
3. Confirm Aadhaar seeding at the bank branch if the school says the name went forward but no credit arrived.
4. Escalate to the District Education Officer with the school's written confirmation if the school and the bank cannot resolve it.

Why Saksham scholarship payments get stopped

• Merit threshold not met in the preceding examination. Because Saksham is merit based, this is the first thing to check.
• Aadhaar not furnished or not authenticated, which blocks payment under the Section-7 notification.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT/PFMS credit fails and returns.
• Name mismatch between the school record, Aadhaar and the bank account.
• Wrong, dormant or closed account number submitted to the school.
• Student moved to a private school, taking them outside the scheme.
• Result entered incorrectly in the school record, which can silently drop a qualifying student from the list.

Most of these are clerical and fixable. Take a corrected passbook copy, a self-attested Aadhaar copy and the marksheet to the school office, ask for the details to be resubmitted, and note the date it was done.

Where to raise a grievance about the Saksham scholarship

• First level: the Principal or Head Master, who implements the scheme under the notification.
• Second level: the District Education Officer (DEO) or District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO), the two officers to whom the Directorate circulated the scheme.
• Department level: Directorate of School Education, Shiksha Sadan, Sector 5, Panchkula 134109. Telephone 0172-2560246, email edusecondaryhry@gmail.com.
• State level: the Haryana CM Window grievance system for cases that stall at district level.

Keep the marksheet, the Aadhaar copy and the bank passbook page together. Those three documents answer nearly every question that arises about a Saksham award.