Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST Students

What is the Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST Students?

Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST Students is a Centrally Sponsored scheme run by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs that supports Scheduled Tribe children studying in Classes IX and X. The scheme exists because the jump from elementary school to secondary school is where tribal students drop out in the largest numbers: fees, uniforms, books and hostel costs all rise at exactly the point when many families can least afford them.

According to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs scheme guidelines, the scholarship covers all ST students reading in standard IX and X whose parental annual income from all sources does not exceed Rs 2.50 lakh. It is a Centrally Sponsored scheme, which means the money is shared between the Centre and the states in a 75:25 ratio, and in a 90:10 ratio for North Eastern and special category states and union territories. Day-to-day implementation; inviting applications, verifying certificates and releasing payment; is done by the state or union territory tribal welfare department.

Key features

• Two benefit components: a monthly scholarship, and reimbursement of compulsory non-refundable fees charged by the institution subject to a state-fixed limit.
• Paid for 10 months in an academic year, not 12.
• Money reaches the student through Direct Benefit Transfer into an Aadhaar-seeded bank account in the student's own name.
• Applications are normally invited on the National Scholarship Portal around April each year.

The scheme has been in operation for decades and is one of the largest scholarship programmes the Ministry of Tribal Affairs runs, alongside the Post-Matric Scholarship for ST students, the National Overseas Scholarship and the National Fellowship for ST students.

Who is eligible for the Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST Students?

You can apply if:

• The student belongs to a notified Scheduled Tribe and holds a valid ST certificate issued by the competent authority in the state.
• The student is enrolled in Class IX or Class X in a school recognised by the appropriate government or examination board.
• The annual income of the parent or guardian from all sources does not exceed Rs 2.50 lakh, as set out in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs guidelines.
• The student has a bank account in their own name, seeded with Aadhaar, so that the DBT payment can be credited.

You cannot apply if:

• The student does not belong to a Scheduled Tribe notified for that state. A caste or community notified as ST in one state is not automatically ST in another.
• Family income crosses the Rs 2.50 lakh ceiling: such students are not eligible, whatever their academic record.
• The student is in Class VIII or below, or in Class XI or above. Classes I to VIII are covered by separate state-funded pre-matric schemes where those exist, and Class XI onwards falls under the Post-Matric Scholarship for ST students.
• The institution is not recognised by any government or board.
• The student is already drawing another central government scholarship for the same course and year. Two central scholarships for the same purpose are not permitted.

A student who fails and repeats the same class is generally not paid twice for that class. Check your state's notification, because states differ on how they treat repeat years.

How much does the Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST Students pay?

According to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs guidelines, the scholarship has two parts.

Several states add an ad-hoc annual grant for books and stationery — commonly Rs 750 a year for day scholars and Rs 1,000 a year for hostellers, and some states top up the monthly rate substantially from their own budget. Because the state share and any state top-up vary, the amount actually credited to a student in one state can be several times what a student in another state receives. The figures in the table are the central norms; confirm your own state's rate on your state tribal welfare department's website before assuming a number.

How to apply for the Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST Students

1. Wait for your state's notification, usually issued around April each year, and check whether your state uses the National Scholarship Portal or its own state scholarship portal.
2. Go to scholarships.gov.in and complete one-time registration using the student's Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrolment ID, mobile number and bank account details. Note down the application ID and password generated.
3. Log in as a fresh applicant, select the state, select Ministry of Tribal Affairs and then Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST Students as the scheme.
4. Fill in the student's personal details, school details, class, hosteller or day scholar status, family income and bank account number exactly as they appear on the passbook.
5. Upload scanned copies of the ST certificate, income certificate, bonafide certificate, Aadhaar and bank passbook within the file size limits shown on the portal.
6. Submit the application and print or save the acknowledgement carrying your application ID.
7. Get the application verified by your school, which is the Institute Nodal Officer in the portal workflow. An unverified application never reaches the district office.
8. Track the status on the portal until it shows verification by the district tribal welfare office and then sanction. Payment is credited by DBT.

If a school is not registered on the National Scholarship Portal, the school must complete institute registration first, a student cannot bypass this step.

What documents are required for this scholarship?

Keep the name spelling identical across the Aadhaar card, bank passbook and school record. A mismatch between these three is the most common reason a sanctioned scholarship fails at the payment stage.

Why Pre-Matric Scholarship payments get delayed or rejected

• School verification pending, the application sits with the Institute Nodal Officer and never reaches the district office.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT transaction fails and bounces back.
• Account in a parent's name rather than the student's own name.
• Income certificate expired or issued by an authority the state does not accept.
• Duplicate application submitted twice by the school and the family.
• Incorrect hosteller declaration: claiming the hosteller rate without a hostel certificate from the institution.

If your application shows "rejected", the portal displays a reason. Most rejections at school or district level can be corrected in the defective application window that the National Scholarship Portal opens after the main deadline.

Help and grievance redressal

• National Scholarship Portal helpdesk: 0120-6619540
• District tribal welfare officer for verification and sanction disputes
• State tribal welfare department for questions about state rates, state top-ups and state-run portals
• Ministry of Tribal Affairs scholarship information at tribal.nic.in

The application is free at every stage. If anyone asks for a payment to "process" or "release" your scholarship, that is not part of the scheme, and no official will ever ask for your OTP, ATM PIN or net banking password.