State Competitive Scholarship Scheme, Manipur

What is the State Competitive Scholarship Scheme in Manipur?

The State Competitive Scholarship Scheme is a merit scholarship run by the Department of Education (S), Government of Manipur, and administered by the Directorate of Education (Schools) at Lamphelpat, Imphal West. Unlike scholarships that read off a board result, this one has its own State Competitive Scholarship Examination (SCSE). A single two-hour objective paper held on one Sunday each year across all districts of Manipur.

The scheme identifies bright students early. Selections are made at three school levels; Class III, Class V and Class VIII, so a child can be picked up as early as the end of primary school. The 2023-24 round covered Classes V and VIII; Class III was included by the 2024-25 round, and the 2025-26 round again covered all three.

Applications are entirely on paper. The student's Head of school certifies the form, the district Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) countersigns it and allots a roll number, and the ZEO office issues the admission card. Results and waiting lists are published class-wise on manipureducation.gov.in, and scholarship money is paid to the selected students' bank accounts, which is why the Directorate has issued a separate notification extending the last date for submission of bank details in connection with the 2025-26 examination.

Who is eligible for the State Competitive Scholarship?

You can appear if:

• You are a regular student of the school from which you apply, certified as such by the Principal, Headmaster or Headmistress.
• You have passed the previous annual examination at the relevant level, Class III, Class V or Class VIII, with the required aggregate:
• 60% for General or Unreserved candidates
• 55% for OBC candidates
• 50% for ST, SC, OBC and PwD candidates
• Your school is a Government, Government-Aided, recognised private or CBSE school in Manipur.
• Your form is countersigned by the Zonal Education Officer of your district.

You cannot apply, and are not eligible to sit the paper, if:

• You study in a Sainik School, Navodaya Vidyalaya, Kendriya Vidyalaya or any other government-sponsored residential school in Manipur. The 2025-26 form excludes these institutions expressly.
• You did not meet the aggregate percentage for your category in the previous annual examination.
• Your form reaches the district officer after the last date. The instructions state that no request for condoning delay in submission will be entertained under any circumstances.
• Your form is incomplete or defective; such applications are liable to be rejected.

The form records disability status under four heads; Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Speech Impairment and Loco Motor Impairment — and PwD candidates get the relaxed 50% cut-off.

What is the examination pattern?

The paper carries 100 compulsory objective questions and runs for 120 minutes, in English medium only, in a single session.

The Part II split differs by class:

• Class III and Class V: 10 English, 15 Mathematics, 35 Environmental Studies.
• Class VIII: 10 English, 20 Social Science, 20 Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) and 10 Mathematics.

Every question offers four options and only one is correct. Answers are marked by completely darkening the circle with a blue or black ink ballpen. Tick marks, cross marks, dots and partial shading are not evaluated, and once a circle is filled it cannot be changed.

Tie-breaking is written into the instructions. Where two or more students score the same marks, selection is decided in order of Mental Ability, then Mathematics, then Environmental Studies for Classes III and V, and Mental Ability, then Mathematics, then Science for Class VIII.

Candidates must not carry a mobile phone, calculator, smart watch, mathematical or physical table, or any other gadget or ready reckoner into the examination hall, and must hand back both the question booklet and the answer sheet before leaving.

How to apply for the State Competitive Scholarship Examination

1. Watch for the notification. The Department of Education (S) publishes the notification and the application forms on manipureducation.gov.in under Notifications and Downloads. The 2025-26 form was posted on 10 December 2025.
2. Download and print the correct form for your class, there are separate forms for Class III, Class V and Class VIII, each with its own instructions and admission card.
3. Fill it in capital letters with a blue or black ballpen, one box per letter, leaving one blank box between words, without writing outside the boxes. Tick only one option for sex, area of residence, caste category, disability status, type of institution and area of the school.
4. Affix the passport size photograph, attested by the Head of the school with the school seal, on both the application form and the admission card.
5. Attach the documents; photocopy of the previous class marksheet or progress report, photocopy of the Aadhaar card, and the OBC, SC, ST or PwD certificate if you are relying on the relaxed cut-off.
6. Get the Head of the Institution's certificate signed on the form, which states that you are a regular student and have met the aggregate condition.
7. Submit the form through the school to the district officer before the last date, for counter-signature by the Zonal Education Officer with seal. The ZEO office fills in the year, district code and serial number.
8. Collect the admit card from the district ZEO at least seven days before the examination, and reach the centre at least half an hour before the paper starts.

Manipur's district codes on the form are: Imphal West 01, Imphal East 02, Thoubal 03, Bishnupur 04, Jiribam 05, Ukhrul 06, Senapati 07, Kangpokpi 08, Tamenglong 09, Churachandpur 10, Chandel 11, Kakching 12, Wangoi (Imphal West) 13, Kamjong 14, Noney 15, Pherzawl 16 and Tengnoupal 17.

How to check the result and claim the scholarship

1. Open manipureducation.gov.in and look for the results notification for your year, the 2025-26 results were published on 30 March 2026.
2. Download the class-wise result. Separate PDFs are published for Class III, Class V and Class VIII, and separate waiting lists for each class.
3. If your name appears, submit your bank details to the Directorate within the notified date so the scholarship can be released. The Directorate issued a notification in April 2026 extending the last date for submission of bank details for the 2025-26 examination, so watch that page.
4. Waiting-list candidates move up as selected students decline, are found ineligible or take another scholarship.

How to ask for re-checking of your answer paper

The Directorate opens a short complaint window after each result. For the 2024-25 examination, held on 23 February 2025, result declared 7 May 2025, the Directorate's notification of 8 May 2025 allowed complaints, including re-checking of the answer paper, from 12 to 16 May 2025, addressed to Shri Oinam Muhindro Singh, Vigyan Mandir Officer, Directorate of Education (S), Lamphelpat. A sum of Rs 2,000 had to be deposited by challan to the Examination Committee for re-checking of the subjects.

Treat those figures as the pattern rather than a standing rule: each year's notification restates the window and the fee.

Common reasons an application is rejected

• Late submission to the district officer, which is never condoned.
• Incomplete or defective form, including writing outside the boxes or ticking more than one option.
• No attestation of the photograph by the Head of school, or a missing school seal.
• Missing ZEO counter-signature, without which no roll number is allotted.
• Aggregate below the category cut-off in the previous annual examination.
• Category certificate not attached where the exact cut-off is being claimed.
• Studying in an excluded residential school such as Navodaya, Kendriya Vidyalaya or Sainik School.

Where to get help

• Directorate of Education (S): Lamphelpat, Imphal West. Phone 0385-3146578, email directorateofeducationschoolsm@gmail.com.
• Director of Education (S): 0385-2411013. The Directorate also lists an Additional Director (Grievance Cell) among its official contacts.
• Your district Zonal Education Officer, for anything to do with the form, the roll number or the admit card.

One honest caveat: the rupee value of the scholarship is not published on the Department of Education (S) website. The department's public documents for this scheme set out the examination, the eligibility and the selection, but the per-student amount is carried in the year's scholarship notification. Ask the Directorate or your ZEO for the current figure rather than relying on an unofficial number.