Pre-SSC Scholarship for Scheduled Caste Students (Parixitlal Majmudar Scholarship)

What is the Pre-SSC Scholarship for Scheduled Caste Students?

The Pre-SSC Scholarship for Scheduled Caste Students, officially numbered BCK-2/71 and popularly called the Parixitlal Majmudar Scholarship, is a state scholarship run by the Director of Scheduled Caste Welfare under Gujarat's Social Justice and Empowerment Department. It gives an annual cash stipend to Scheduled Caste children studying anywhere from Class 1 to Class 10 in Gujarat.

According to the Director of Scheduled Caste Welfare, the object of the scheme is to provide financial assistance to Scheduled Caste students in Standards 1 to 10 so that the cost of schooling does not push them out of the classroom before the SSC examination. The name honours Parixitlal Majmudar, the Gujarati Gandhian social reformer who worked for the removal of untouchability, and the scheme is sometimes written as Parikshitlal Majmudar Shishyavrutti.

"Pre-SSC" simply means the school stage before the Secondary School Certificate examination taken at the end of Class 10. That is why the scheme stops at Class 10 to from Class 11 onwards SC students in Gujarat move to the post-SSC scholarships, including the state Buddha scholarship for girls and the centrally funded Post-Matric Scholarship.

The two features that set this scheme apart

• No income limit. The Director of Scheduled Caste Welfare records that no income ceiling applies. Almost every other SC education benefit in Gujarat: including the assistance for study in renowned private schools, which caps family income at Rs 6,00,000 — carries one. This scheme does not.
• The school applies, not the family. The application is filed online by the school principal on behalf of the student, which removes the digital-literacy barrier that stops many families from claiming small scholarships.

How much money does the Pre-SSC scholarship give?

The rate depends on the class and, in the middle-school years, on the student's gender.

The maximum any single student can draw in a year is therefore Rs 1,000. The amount is an annual stipend, not a monthly one, and it is credited by direct bank transfer rather than paid in cash at the school.

The higher rate for girls in Classes 6 to 8 is deliberate. Middle school is the stage at which SC girls' drop-out in Gujarat has historically been highest, and the extra Rs 250 a year is the scheme's small counterweight to that. It is worth reading alongside Saraswati Sadhna Yojana, the Gujarat scheme that gives free bicycles to SC girls entering Class 9, and the Muni Metraj scholarship for the children of sanitation workers.

Who is eligible for the Pre-SSC Scholarship?

A student can get this scholarship if:

• The student belongs to a Scheduled Caste notified for Gujarat and can produce a caste certificate from a competent authority.
• The student is studying in Class 1 to Class 10.
• The student is enrolled in a recognised school in Gujarat, government, grant-in-aid or private.
• The school principal is willing to file the online application, which is the only route the scheme allows.

No income test applies. A family's earnings are not examined at any stage of this particular scheme.

A student is not eligible if:

• The student does not belong to a Scheduled Caste. Scheduled Tribe, Socially and Educationally Backward Class, Economically Weaker Section and general category students in Gujarat are served by separate schemes run by other directorates of the same department.
• The student has moved beyond Class 10. From Class 11 the post-SSC scholarship route applies instead.
• The student is studying outside Gujarat, or the caste certificate is from another state and cannot be verified by the district office.
• The caste certificate, Aadhaar or bank details cannot be verified on the Digital Gujarat portal.
• The student is claiming the same benefit twice in the same academic year, or claiming through two schools.

What documents are required for the Parixitlal Majmudar Scholarship?

Schools normally collect these once at the start of the academic year for the whole SC cohort rather than student by student.

How to apply for the Pre-SSC Scholarship for Scheduled Caste Students

1. Give your documents to the school office. The student's family hands the caste certificate, Aadhaar card, bank passbook copy and previous mark sheet to the class teacher or the school clerk.
2. The school principal logs in to the Digital Gujarat portal at digitalgujarat.gov.in, which is the state's single scholarship platform for the Social Justice and Empowerment Department.
3. The principal opens the Pre-SSC scholarship (BCK-2/71) service for the current academic year and creates or updates each SC student's record with class, gender, caste certificate number and bank account details.
4. The principal uploads the supporting documents and submits the applications for the whole SC cohort of the school.
5. The district Deputy Director (Scheduled Caste Welfare) scrutinises the list, verifies caste certificates and sanctions the scholarship.
6. The amount is credited by direct bank transfer to the account recorded in the application. The school receives a sanction list it can show to parents.

Families cannot bypass the school and file directly. If your school has not applied, the fix is to raise it with the principal, and then with the district Deputy Director's office, not to submit a separate individual form.

How do I check the status of the application?

1. Ask the school principal to open the application record on digitalgujarat.gov.in, the portal shows whether the application is pending, verified, sanctioned or rejected.
2. Ask the school for the sanction list received from the district office.
3. Contact the district Deputy Director (Scheduled Caste Welfare) office for your district if the school's record shows sanction but no money has arrived.
4. Escalate to the Director of Scheduled Caste Welfare in Gandhinagar on +91 79 23253229 or 23253235.

Why does the Pre-SSC scholarship get rejected or delayed?

• Caste certificate not attached or not verifiable. This is the single most common reason. Get a fresh certificate from the Mamlatdar or the competent authority rather than resubmitting an old one with a discrepancy.
• Name mismatch between the caste certificate, the Aadhaar card, the school register and the bank account. The four have to agree.
• Inactive, closed or wrongly typed bank account. A sanctioned scholarship that fails at the transfer stage looks to the family exactly like a rejection. Check the account number digit by digit.
• School did not file within the academic year's window. The scheme has no permanent statutory deadline, but each year's window on Digital Gujarat closes. A missed year usually cannot be claimed retrospectively.
• Duplicate entries for the same student, often when a child changes school mid-year and both schools file.
• Wrong class or gender entered, which produces the wrong rate, a common cause of a girl in Class 7 receiving Rs 750 instead of Rs 1,000.

What else can an SC school student in Gujarat claim?

The Director of Scheduled Caste Welfare runs roughly 35 education schemes. Alongside the Pre-SSC scholarship, an SC family should look at Saraswati Sadhna Yojana (free bicycles for SC girls in Class 9), the Muni Metraj scholarship for children of sanitation workers, government hostel facilities, financial assistance of up to Rs 50,000 for study in renowned private schools, coaching support for NEET and JEE for Class 12 science students, and the post-SSC scholarships from Class 11 onwards. Several of these are compatible with the Pre-SSC scholarship in the same year because they cover different costs.

Help and grievance redressal

• Director, Scheduled Caste Welfare, Gujarat: Block No. 4, Second Floor, Dr Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar
• Phone: +91 79 23253229 / 23253235
• Scheme page: sje.gujarat.gov.in/dscw
• Application portal: digitalgujarat.gov.in
• District level: the Deputy Director (Scheduled Caste Welfare) office in your district

The scholarship is free to apply for. No school, agent or middleman may charge a fee for filing a Pre-SSC scholarship application or for adding a student's name to the list.