Reimbursement of Tuition Fees to the Wards of Ex-Servicemen/Widows (Sainik Welfare)

What is the tuition fee reimbursement for wards of ex-servicemen in Puducherry?

Reimbursement of Tuition Fees to the Wards of Ex-Servicemen and Widows is a welfare scheme of the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund, administered by the Department of Sainik Welfare, Government of Puducherry, through the Rajya Sainik Board at Jawan Bhawan, Lawspet.

The Armed Forces Flag Day Fund is money collected from the public each December and applied to the welfare of ex-servicemen, war widows and their families. In Puducherry the fund pays for a set of small, specific grants: spectacles, hearing aids, dentures, thatched house repair, and this one. The tuition fee scheme is the education arm of that set.

Under it, the wards of ex-servicemen and of widows of ex-servicemen studying in government-recognised institutions are reimbursed their tuition fees, at fixed monthly rates by level of study, or the actual cost of the fee, whichever is less.

How much is reimbursed at each level?

The rate listed above or the actual cost of the fee, whichever is less, is what gets reimbursed. A ward paying Rs 600 a month in an ordinary school is reimbursed Rs 600, not Rs 1,000. A ward paying Rs 9,000 a month in an engineering college is reimbursed Rs 2,000.

The structure rewards two things in particular. Military and Sainik schools and the defence academies sit at the top rate, which reflects the department's interest in the next generation entering service. Schools for special children sit at the same top rate, which is a deliberate concession rather than an accident of the table.

Who is eligible for this reimbursement?

A claim can be made if:

• The applicant is a ward of an unemployed ex-serviceman, or a ward of the widow of an ex-serviceman.
• The ex-serviceman or widow is registered with the Department of Sainik Welfare, Puducherry. Registration elsewhere in the country does not carry over.
• The ward is studying in a government-recognised institution.
• The claim is for one of at most two wards of that ex-serviceman or widow.

Who is not eligible:

• A ward repeating the same class. The scheme does not apply to a repeated year.
• Wards already in receipt of an academic scholarship. The two cannot be held together.
• Wards availing any other benefit of reimbursement of tuition fees, from any source.
• A third or later child of the same ex-serviceman or widow, since the scheme is capped at two wards.
• Wards of re-employed ex-servicemen, since the benefit is framed for the unemployed ex-serviceman.
• Wards in unrecognised institutions, including private coaching centres.
• Families not on the Puducherry rolls of the Department of Sainik Welfare.

What documents are required?

The fee receipts are the document families most often struggle with, because many institutions collect one consolidated amount covering tuition, development charges, examination fees and transport. Only tuition fee is reimbursed here, and that is exactly why the scheme asks for a certificate showing the breakdown of fees indicating the category, signed by the head of the institution, where the fee is collected in a lump sum. It is worth asking the institution for that breakdown at the time of payment rather than a year later.

How to apply for tuition fee reimbursement

1. Take a print of the prescribed application form for this scheme. Forms for the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund schemes are available from the Department of Sainik Welfare, Puducherry.
2. Fill in all mandatory fields, paste the passport-sized photograph signed across where required, and attach self-attested copies of every mandatory document.
3. Submit the duly filled and signed form with the documents to the concerned authority at the Rajya Sainik Board, Jawan Bhawan, Department of Sainik Welfare, Government of Puducherry, 261 Lawspet Main Road, Pakkamudianpet, Lawspet, Puducherry 605013.
4. Collect the receipt that the concerned authority assigns to the application, and keep it for every later enquiry.

The application must be submitted within three months from the date of completion of the education. That window is short, and it runs from completion of the course rather than from the end of an academic year, so a student finishing in one month should not wait for a results ceremony months later.

How to check on your claim

1. Keep the receipt issued at the time of submission.
2. Call the Department of Sainik Welfare on 0413-2253107, or write to dirdsw.pon@nic.in, quoting the ex-serviceman's identity card number and the date of submission.
3. Visit the Rajya Sainik Board at Jawan Bhawan, Lawspet, between 2:30 pm and 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday, which are the published hours for these matters.

Why claims for tuition fee reimbursement fail

• Filed later than three months after completion of the course. This is the most common reason, because families wait for a degree certificate that arrives after the window closes.
• No breakdown of a lump sum fee, leaving the department unable to identify the tuition component.
• The ward is already holding an academic scholarship, which the scheme expressly excludes.
• A third ward claimed beyond the cap of two.
• The year claimed is a repeated class.
• The institution is not government-recognised.
• Photocopied fee receipts where originals are asked for.
• The family is registered with a Zila Sainik Board in another state, not with the Department of Sainik Welfare, Puducherry.

Help and grievance redressal

• Department of Sainik Welfare, Puducherry — 261 Lawspet Main Road, Pakkamudianpet, Lawspet, Puducherry 605013; phone 0413-2253107; email dirdsw.pon@nic.in; hours Monday to Friday, 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm.
• Departmental scheme listing: sainik.py.gov.in/assistance-affd-fund.

There is no fee for the application form and no agent has any standing in this process. The Armed Forces Flag Day Fund schemes are administered by a Managing Committee, and payment is made by bank transfer to the account of the ex-serviceman or widow.