Chief Minister's College Students Rehabilitation Scheme (CMCSRS), 2023

What is the Chief Minister's College Students Rehabilitation Scheme?

Chief Minister's College Students Rehabilitation Scheme (CMCSRS), 2023 is a scheme of the Department of Higher Education, Government of Manipur, launched on 7 July 2023 to keep undergraduate students in college after the law and order crisis that began in the first week of May 2023. According to the scheme guidelines issued by the department, preliminary reports from across the state put the number of college-going students affected directly or indirectly at around 2,000.

The scheme is implemented by the Directorate of University and Higher Education (DUHE). It works on students who are reading undergraduate programmes in Manipur's Government and Government Aided Colleges. The guidelines note that the state has 3 state universities, about 10 central universities and higher education institutions, 51 Government and Government Aided Colleges and around 30 private colleges. Only the 51 government and aided colleges fall inside CMCSRS.

Key facts

• Launch date: 7 July 2023.
• Budget: Rs 2 crore, of which Rs 50 lakh came from the Students Amenities head of account in BE 2023-24 and Rs 1.5 crore from additional budgetary allocation.
• One-time rehabilitation grant: Rs 10,000 per directly affected student.
• Free admission worth Rs 5,000 to Rs 9,000 depending on stream.
• Scheme period: one time, for 2023-24 only, subject to continuation.

What are the objectives of CMCSRS 2023?

The guidelines list six objectives, and they explain the shape of the benefits:

• Transfer of students from their present college to a new college as per the request made by the student, subject to seat availability.
• Free admission or fee waiver for affected students in Government and Government Aided Colleges for the 2023-24 session.
• Monetary grants to buy books, stationery, uniforms and other requirements so that education can continue.
• Controlling the dropout rate at the undergraduate level, which the National Education Policy 2020 also targets.
• Maintaining a healthy Gross Enrolment Ratio in Manipur's colleges, against the NEP goal of 50% GER by 2050.
• Encouraging hybrid and blended learning by putting IT gadgets and software in the hands of affected students.

Who is eligible for the CMCSRS 2023 benefits?

You can apply if:

• You are reading in any semester of an undergraduate programme.
• Your college is a Government or Government Aided College of Manipur.
• You were affected by the law and order situation in the state from May 2023, either directly or through displacement.
• You can produce a certificate from the SDO or SDC of the subdivision or circle where you are residing at the time of application.

You are not eligible and cannot apply if:

• You study at a private college in Manipur. The scheme is limited to Government and Government Aided Colleges.
• You study at a central university or central higher education institution in the state, which sits outside the state Higher Education Department's scheme.
• You are a postgraduate or research student. The guidelines confine the scheme to the undergraduate level.
• You are a school student, since the scheme is a higher education intervention.
• You cannot produce the SDO or SDC certificate establishing that you were affected, in which case the Screening Committee will not be able to establish the genuineness of your claim.

What benefits does each category get?

CMCSRS splits beneficiaries into two categories, and the relief package differs between them.

Category 1 to Directly affected students

1. Transfer to a new college, as per request.
2. Free admission for 2023-24, with the admission amount ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 9,000 depending on the stream and subjects offered.
3. A one-time rehabilitation grant of Rs 10,000, broken up as Rs 5,000 as book and stationery grant, Rs 2,000 for uniform and Rs 3,000 for miscellaneous expenditure.
4. Free smartphones under the Chief Minister's College Maheiroi e-Support Scheme (CMCMESS).
5. Free sanitary pads and sports equipment for girl students under the University and Higher Education Health and Fitness Scheme (UHEHFS).

Category 2 — Inter-college transfer facility

1. Transfer to a new college, as per request.
2. Free admission for 2023-24, with the same Rs 5,000 to Rs 9,000 admission amount, as applicable.

The difference is deliberate. Students who lost their homes and possessions get the cash grant and the device; students who only needed to move colleges get the mobility and the fee waiver.

How to apply for CMCSRS 2023

1. Watch for the application notification. The guidelines state that affected students may apply online at a portal or link to be notified separately, and that the notification would be published in the state's major newspapers and announced on All India Radio and local TV channels.
2. Obtain the SDO or SDC certificate from the subdivision or circle where you are residing at the time of application. This is the core supporting document for the Screening Committee.
3. Fill the online application form, choosing your category: directly affected, or inter-college transfer, and naming the college you wish to be transferred to.
4. Attach your documents; college identity proof, the SDO or SDC certificate, previous semester marksheet where relevant, Aadhaar, photograph and bank passbook.
5. Submit before the last date notified for the cycle. The department said eligible students would be given sufficient time to apply.
6. Wait for the Screening Committee's verification. The Committee may make enquiries in your college or locality to establish genuineness.
7. Check the selection list published as a notification PDF on highereducationmanipur.gov.in.
8. Complete admission at the new college free of cost, and confirm your bank details so the grant can be credited.

Who selects the beneficiaries?

A Screening Committee screens every application received up to the last date. Its composition is fixed in the guidelines:

• Director (UHE), Government of Manipur; Chairperson
• Additional Director (UHE): Member
• Senior Finance Officer (UHE); Member
• Four Principals of Government Colleges, nominated by the Chairperson: Members

The recommended list is then approved by the administrative Department of Higher Education. Benefits are released in a fixed sequence: first the college transfer as per the student's request and seat vacancies, second free admission in the new college, third the Rs 10,000 grant paid by DBT into the student's individual bank account, and fourth the smartphone under CMCMESS along with sanitary pads and sports equipment for girl students under UHEHFS.

Colleges receiving transferred students are required to enrol them immediately in N-LIST and the Moodle Learning Management System so that e-resources and online classes are available at once, and Principals must report the details of students admitted under the scheme to the Director, UHE.

What were the key dates and how many students benefited?

• 7 July 2023, CMCSRS, 2023 launched.
• 24 July 2023, scheme notification published by DUHE.
• 17 September 2023: list of 938 applicants who applied under CMCSRS 2023 published.
• 8 November 2023; first selection notification for 316 students, of whom 310 were in the directly affected category and 6 under inter-college transfer, signed by the Director of University and Higher Education. The notification stated that further lists would follow as verified lists were received from college Principals.
• December 2023, a further notification covering 724 students.
• 13 March 2024, bank account details published for 610 displaced students under CMCSRS 2023.

Alongside CMCSRS, the department distributed television sets for designated classes in relief camps so that displaced students could keep attending lessons.

Is CMCSRS still open?

CMCSRS, 2023 was designed as a one-time scheme for 2023-24. The guidelines say plainly that it will be implemented only in 2023-24 in view of the prevailing serious law and order situation, and that continuation in following years is subject to what the Government deems fit. No fresh CMCSRS application window has been notified on the department's website since the 2023-24 lists were closed.

Students who need current support should look at the department's related schemes. The Chief Minister's College Maheiroi e-Support Scheme (CMCMESS) for smartphones, the University and Higher Education Digital Support Scheme (UHEDSS), the College Students Mentoring Initiative (COSMI) launched on 27 October 2023, and the College Fagathansi Mission launched on 6 January 2024. Central scholarships are also routed through the National Scholarship Portal, including the NEC Merit Scholarship for students of the North Eastern Region and the Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for College and University Students.

Where do you ask about a pending CMCSRS payment?

• Directorate of University and Higher Education, Nityaipat Chuthek, near Raj Bhavan, Imphal 795001.
• Phone: +91 7085303429.
• Email: edakuhe@gmail.com or contact@highereducationmanipur.gov.in.
• Your college Principal, who is the reporting authority to the Director, UHE for students admitted under the scheme.

The most common reason a sanctioned grant does not arrive is a mismatch in the student's bank account details, which is exactly why the department published the account details of 610 displaced students for verification in March 2024. If your name is on a selection list but no money has reached you, start with your college Principal and take the notification page number with you.

Common reasons for rejection

CMCSRS applications went through a Screening Committee that checked each claim against the guidelines before a student's name made it to a selection notification. Most rejections and drop-offs trace back to a handful of recurring gaps.

• No SDO or SDC certificate, or a certificate that does not match the claim. The certificate from the Sub-Divisional Officer or Sub-Divisional Clerk of the subdivision or circle where the student was residing at the time of application was the core document the Screening Committee relied on to establish genuineness. An application without it, or with a certificate issued for a different address than the one claimed as affected, was not something the Committee could verify, and it was set aside.
• Studying at a private college. CMCSRS covered only the 51 Government and Government Aided Colleges in Manipur. Students enrolled at any of the state's roughly 30 private colleges fell outside the scheme by definition, regardless of how badly they were affected.
• Studying at a central university or central institution. The scheme sat under the state Higher Education Department and its Directorate of University and Higher Education, so students at Manipur's central universities and central higher education institutions were not eligible, since those institutions are not administered by DUHE.
• Postgraduate or research enrolment. The guidelines confine the benefit to undergraduate programmes. A postgraduate or research scholar's application had no category to be placed in under CMCSRS.
• Wrong or incomplete category selection on the form. The scheme separates directly affected students (Category 1, eligible for the grant, admission waiver, transfer and smartphone) from inter-college transfer applicants (Category 2, eligible only for transfer and admission waiver). Choosing the wrong category, or leaving the desired transfer college unspecified where a transfer was actually sought, produced a mismatch between what the student asked for and what the Screening Committee could recommend.
• Applying after the notified last date. Each selection round (the 17 September 2023 list of 938 applicants, the 8 November 2023 list of 316, and the further December 2023 list of 724) was built from applications received up to that cycle's deadline. An application filed after a round's cut-off had to wait for the next notified list, and with CMCSRS run as a one-time scheme for 2023-24, once no further round was notified, late applications had nowhere left to go.
• Bank account details that do not match the student's identity. This is a common cause of a sanctioned grant not being disbursed rather than an outright rejection: the Rs 10,000 grant is paid by DBT into the student's individual bank account, and a mismatched name, account number, or IFSC code stops the transfer even after a student's name appears on a selection list. This is exactly why the department published the bank account details of 610 displaced students in March 2024, so errors could be caught and corrected before payment.

What to do if your claim was not accepted or your grant has not arrived: collect the SDO or SDC certificate again if it was the missing piece, confirm which category actually matches your situation, and take the matter to your college Principal, who reports admitted students to the Director, UHE. If a selection list already carries your name but no grant has reached your account, raise the bank account mismatch directly with the Directorate of University and Higher Education (+91 7085303429, edakuhe@gmail.com) rather than resubmitting a fresh application.