Sikkim Grant of Scholarship to Students with Disabilities

What is the Sikkim Grant of Scholarship to Students with Disabilities?

Sikkim Grant of Scholarship to Students with Disabilities, Scheme, 2014 is a state scholarship notified by the Government of Sikkim to help students with disabilities secure academic education and technical or professional training, so that they can earn a livelihood and become useful members of society. The notification was issued from Samaj Kalyan Bhawan, 5th Mile Tadong, Lumsay, Gangtok in July 2014 under File No. GOS/SJE&WD/2014/6(11), in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (d) of Section 30 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

The scheme was framed by the then Social Justice, Empowerment and Welfare Department (Social Welfare Division). Sikkim has since reorganised its welfare departments: disability subjects now sit with the Women, Child, Senior Citizen and Divyangjan Welfare Department, whose Disability Division hosts this notification, while the Social Welfare Department retains scholarships for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, OBC and minority students through the National Scholarship Portal. Applicants should therefore approach the Women, Child, Senior Citizen and Divyangjan Welfare Department for this particular grant.

The notification states expressly that the scheme applies to all categories of local, poor and needy differently abled students who are pursuing their education within or outside the State but within the country. A Sikkimese student studying in Kolkata, Siliguri or Delhi is therefore not excluded on that ground alone.

How much does the scheme pay?

Paragraph 3 of the scheme is short and important: "The amount of scholarship payable to each student shall be such as may be notified by the Government from time to time." The 2014 scheme therefore fixes no rupee figure of its own, and the rate is set by separate government notification. Anyone quoting a specific amount should be asked which notification it comes from.

What the scheme does define is the form the benefit can take. Paragraph 2(h) defines "scholarship" as any form of financial aid or incentive paid or reimbursed by the Government, either in cash or in books, stationery, uniforms and allowances. The same clause deems the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension or a subsistence allowance to be a scholarship within that meaning, which is why a student already drawing those is treated as already assisted.

Separately, paragraph 10 places on the Human Resource Development Department the duty to provide special books free of cost, including textbooks, uniforms and other materials, to students with disabilities attending school, as required under clause (f) of section 27 and clause (c) of section 30 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

Who is eligible for the Sikkim disability scholarship?

You can be considered if all of the following apply.

• The student is in the age group of 5 years and above.
• The student is suffering from not less than 40% disability, as certified by the Medical Authorities for the disabilities defined in section 2(t) of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. The Medical Authorities were constituted vide Notification No. 9/SJE&WD dated 28 December 2013.
• The student is local, meaning a local resident belonging to the Bhutia, Lepcha or Nepali community possessing a Sikkim Subject Certificate or Certificate of Identification, of the student or the father as the case may be.
• The family is poor and needy, the student has no regular source of income of their own or through financial support from family members, and the parents hold a Below Poverty Line certificate or an income certificate issued by the Gram Vikash Adhikari of the locality.
• The student is a regular student of a recognised College, University or School, and can produce a certificate from the Head of the Institution.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, in these situations.

• The certified disability is below 40%, or the certificate comes from a doctor who is not among the notified Medical Authorities.
• The student is under 5 years of age.
• The student is already availing a similar scholarship from another department of the Government of Sikkim or from a central ministry. Paragraph 5(5) rules this out, and the definition of scholarship covers the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension and subsistence allowance.
• The family is not poor and needy as defined, because the student has a regular source of income or the parents hold neither a BPL certificate nor an income certificate from the Gram Vikash Adhikari.
• The student failed to pass the examination in one sitting of that academic session — no scholarship is payable for the repeated class.
• The student is not a regular student, for instance a purely private or correspondence candidate with no institutional endorsement.
• The student has permanently migrated outside Sikkim, which is a ground for cessation under paragraph 13.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Sikkim disability scholarship

1. Get the disability certified. Approach the Medical Authorities notified under Notification No. 9/SJE&WD dated 28 December 2013 and obtain a certificate showing not less than 40% disability under section 2(t) of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.
2. Collect the residence and income documents. Get the Sikkim Subject Certificate or Certificate of Identification, of the student or the father as applicable, and the parent's BPL or income certificate from the Gram Vikash Adhikari of your Block Administrative Centre. Add proof of date of birth.
3. Get the institution's certificate and marksheet. The scholarship is granted only on production of a certificate from the Head of the Institution confirming that the student is a regular student.
4. Write the application on plain paper, attach three passport size photographs and all the documents above, and have it endorsed by the Head of Institution.
5. Submit the claim in the first month of the academic year. Paragraph 5(4) requires the student to submit the claim for payment or reimbursement in every first month of the academic year, duly endorsed by the Head of Institution.
6. File the Life Certificate every February in the prescribed format, certified by the Head of Institution.

How the department processes the application

On receipt, a Selection Committee scrutinises the application. Under paragraph 4 the committee consists of the Joint Secretary of the Social Welfare Division, the Social Welfare Officer and any other senior officer nominated by the Secretary-in-Charge, and a Senior Accounts Officer or Accounts Officer. The committee checks age, the Sikkim Subject Certificate or Certificate of Identification, and the BPL or income certificate, and on complete and satisfactory documents, approval is accorded by the Secretary.

A copy of the sanction order is endorsed to the District Collector, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, the Accounts Section, the Gram Vikash Adhikari and the Panchayat where the student actually resides, as well as to the student. That endorsement chain is worth knowing, because it gives you several local offices that can confirm whether your sanction has been issued.

Payment is made through Direct Benefit Transfer, or any other mode decided by the sanctioning authority from time to time.

When does the scholarship stop?

Paragraph 13 lists the grounds on which the scholarship ceases to be drawn:

• Death of the student. The family member, Panchayat or Head of Institution must report the death to the department and surrender the passbook immediately.
• Failing the examination conducted by the University or Board.
• Permanent migration outside Sikkim.
• Failure to submit the Life Certificate in February. If it is not filed, the department presumes the student has died, migrated outside Sikkim or failed the class, and payment is stopped forthwith without further notice.

Paragraph 14 gives the sanctioning authority the right to recover payments made on the basis of false or mistaken information about eligibility or the death of the student. Paragraph 11 allows the concerned officer of the Social Welfare Division to verify the continued existence of the student in the University, College or School.

Where to raise a query

Enquiries go to the Women, Child, Senior Citizen and Divyangjan Welfare Department, Government of Sikkim, Gangtok, whose Disability Division hosts the scheme notification. The department also runs the state's Unique Disability ID project and the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. The Social Welfare Department at Samaj Kalyan Bhawan, Lumsay, Tadong, Gangtok, which framed the original notification, can be reached on 03592-232596 or at sikkimsocialwelfare@gmail.com and remains a useful point of contact for records of the 2014 scheme.

How to check your application status

The 2014 notification does not set up an online tracking portal for this scholarship, so status checking is entirely offline, through the endorsement chain the sanction order itself creates.

1. Ask the Head of Institution first. Because every claim and the annual Life Certificate must be endorsed by the Head of Institution before they reach the department, the institution usually knows whether a submitted application has been forwarded and whether any sanction copy has come back to them.
2. Follow up with the Gram Vikash Adhikari or Panchayat. Paragraph 4's sanction order is copied to the Gram Vikash Adhikari and to the Panchayat where the student actually resides, so these local offices can confirm whether a sanction has actually been issued in a student's name, even before any payment is credited.
3. Check with the Sub-Divisional Magistrate or District Collector's office. Both also receive a copy of the sanction order under paragraph 4, so a visit or call to either office can confirm the file has moved past the Selection Committee stage.
4. Contact the Women, Child, Senior Citizen and Divyangjan Welfare Department directly. Since this department's Disability Division now hosts the scheme, it is the authority that can tell you whether the Selection Committee (Joint Secretary, Social Welfare Officer, and a Senior or ordinary Accounts Officer) has scrutinised your papers and whether the Secretary has accorded approval.
5. Watch your bank account once you know a sanction exists. Payment is made through Direct Benefit Transfer, so a credited amount matching the scheme is itself confirmation that the claim was approved and processed for that academic year.
6. Track the Life Certificate cycle separately. Because non-submission of the Life Certificate in February causes the department to presume the student has died, migrated, or failed the class, and stops payment without further notice, a returning student should confirm every February that their Life Certificate has actually reached the Head of Institution and been forwarded, rather than assuming continued payment is automatic.

Common reasons for rejection

• Disability certificate from an authority that is not a notified Medical Authority. Paragraph 2 requires certification specifically by the Medical Authorities constituted under Notification No. 9/SJE&WD dated 28 December 2013. A certificate from a private doctor or a hospital outside that notified list will not be accepted, even if it correctly states the disability percentage. Fix: get re-examined by the Medical Authorities the department itself recognises before submitting the claim.
• Certified disability below the 40% threshold. The scheme applies only to students with not less than 40% disability as defined under section 2(t) of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. A certificate showing a lower percentage is a straightforward disqualification, not something that can be appealed on the same certificate. Fix: there is no workaround for a certificate below 40 percent; the claim can only be pursued if a fresh medical assessment supports the threshold.
• Missing or wrong residence proof. The scheme is restricted to local residents of the Bhutia, Lepcha or Nepali community holding a Sikkim Subject Certificate or Certificate of Identification, of the student or the father as applicable. Applications without this document, or with a residence certificate from a different state, are rejected at the Selection Committee's scrutiny stage. Fix: obtain the Sikkim Subject Certificate or COI from the appropriate revenue authority before applying.
• No BPL or income certificate from the Gram Vikash Adhikari. The "poor and needy" condition is checked specifically against a Below Poverty Line certificate or an income certificate issued by the Gram Vikash Adhikari of the locality, not any generic income proof. A certificate from a different office, or none at all, will fail this check. Fix: apply to the Gram Vikash Adhikari of your Block Administrative Centre well before the academic year's first month deadline.
• Already receiving a similar benefit. Paragraph 5(5) bars a student already availing a similar scholarship from another Government of Sikkim department or a central ministry, and the scheme's own definition treats the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension or a subsistence allowance as a scholarship. Claiming both is a rejection ground, and a false declaration on this point exposes the family to recovery action under paragraph 14. Fix: declare any existing pension, allowance or scholarship upfront and confirm with the department which benefit is more advantageous before applying for both.
• No certificate from the Head of Institution, or an unendorsed claim. The scholarship is granted only on production of a certificate confirming regular student status, and every claim for payment must be endorsed by the Head of Institution. An application submitted directly by a student or parent without this endorsement is incomplete. Fix: route every application and every annual claim through the school, college or university office first.
• Claim filed late, outside the first month of the academic year. Paragraph 5(4) sets the claim window as the first month of the academic year. Late submissions can miss that year's sanction cycle. Fix: prepare all documents, including the disability certificate and income certificate, well before the academic session begins so the claim can be filed within the first month.
• Student failed the examination in that session, or is not a regular student. No scholarship is payable for a repeated class after failure, and purely private or correspondence candidates without institutional endorsement do not qualify as regular students. Fix: this is not fixable for the failed year itself, but a student can reapply once promoted, and correspondence candidates should check with the institution whether their course counts as regular attendance.
• Life Certificate not filed in February, treated as presumed ineligibility. If the annual Life Certificate is missed, the department presumes the student has died, migrated outside Sikkim, or failed the class, and stops payment without further notice, even if none of those things actually happened. Fix: file the Life Certificate through the Head of Institution every February without exception, and follow up immediately if payment stops afterward.