State Pre-Matric Scholarship for Disabled Students, Maharashtra

What is the State Pre-Matric Scholarship for Disabled Students?

State Pre-Matric Scholarship for Disabled Students is a Maharashtra government scholarship that pays a small monthly amount to school students with a disability of 40% or more, from Class 1 right through to Class 10. The scheme was created by the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department and is now administered by the Divyang Kalyan Vibhag, the Department of Persons with Disabilities Welfare that Maharashtra carved out as a separate department for disability schemes. On the ground the scheme is delivered by the District Social Welfare Officer at each Zilla Parishad, and by the Assistant Commissioner, Social Welfare, in Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts.

The stated purpose is straightforward: to encourage students with disabilities to stay in school and complete their pre-matric education. Dropout among disabled children is high in the early school years, and the scheme puts a small, predictable amount into the family's hands every month of the academic year to offset the extra cost of transport, escorts, aids and materials.

How the scholarship is structured

• Paid monthly, not as a single annual lump sum.
• Rate rises with the class the student is in, from Rs 100 to Rs 200 a month.
• Separate rates exist for students with intellectual disability or mental illness, and for disabled trainees attached to a workshop.
• No family income ceiling, eligibility is based on disability and school enrolment.
• Funded entirely by the Government of Maharashtra.

How much does the state pre-matric scholarship pay?

These rates are the ones published in the state's disability scheme material and reproduced on Zilla Parishad scheme pages across Maharashtra. The rates have not been revised for several years, and readers should treat the monthly figure as supplementary support rather than as a substantial scholarship. A Class 9 student drawing Rs 200 a month receives Rs 2,400 across twelve months.

The amount is credited by Direct Benefit Transfer into the student's bank account or a joint account with a parent. Districts usually release the money in one or two consolidated instalments during the academic year rather than literally every month, so a gap of some months between credits is normal.

Who is eligible for the state pre-matric scholarship for disabled students?

A student can get this scholarship if:

• The student has a disability of 40% or more, certified by a competent medical authority. Blindness and low vision, hearing impairment, locomotor or orthopaedic disability, intellectual disability and mental illness are the categories most commonly sanctioned.
• The student is studying in Class 1 to Class 10.
• The school is a government, government-aided or government-recognised institution in Maharashtra. Students with intellectual disability studying in a recognised special school are covered.
• The student is a permanent resident of Maharashtra.
• The student holds, or has at least enrolled for, a UDID card. The Unique Disability ID is now being treated as mandatory documentation for disability benefit schemes, and districts increasingly refuse a plain paper certificate.

A student is not eligible and cannot apply if:

• The certified disability is below 40%.
• The student is past Class 10; post-matric students must use the State Post-Matric Scholarship for Disabled Persons instead, which is a separate scheme.
• The student is not enrolled in school during the year claimed. The scholarship follows enrolment, so a year spent out of school is not payable.
• The school is not recognised by the government.
• The student is not a resident of Maharashtra.
• The student is already drawing another scholarship for the same purpose in the same academic year, including the central Pre-Matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities on scholarship.gov.in.

Note the one condition that surprises most families: there is no income limit. A student from any income background qualifies if the disability and enrolment conditions are met.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the state pre-matric scholarship for disabled students

1. Ask your school's headmaster or scholarship clerk for the state pre-matric scholarship form for disabled students. The scheme is school-routed, so the school is the correct first stop, not the district office.
2. Get or renew the disability certificate from the district civil hospital or the designated medical board if you do not already hold one showing 40% or more disability, and apply for the UDID card at swavlambancard.gov.in.
3. Fill the form and attach the documents; disability certificate, UDID, bonafide certificate, domicile proof, Aadhaar and a copy of the bank passbook page showing the account number and IFSC.
4. Open or check the bank account. Confirm at the branch that the account is Aadhaar-seeded, because the payment is made by DBT and an unseeded account simply fails.
5. Submit the complete set to the school and ask the school to record it in the scholarship register. Keep a photocopy of everything you hand over.
6. The school forwards the consolidated list to the District Social Welfare Officer at the Zilla Parishad, or to the Assistant Commissioner, Social Welfare, if you are in Mumbai City or Mumbai Suburban.
7. Follow up at the school after two to three months for the sanction status, and check your bank passbook for the credit.

How do I check whether the scholarship has been sanctioned?

There is no public online tracker for this state scheme. Check in this order:

1. The school office, which holds the acknowledgement and the district's sanction communication.
2. The District Social Welfare Officer, Zilla Parishad in your district, or the Assistant Commissioner, Social Welfare, in Mumbai. Carry your child's disability certificate number and the school's forwarding reference.
3. Your bank passbook — update it and look for a credit tagged to the social welfare department.

Why applications get rejected or payments do not arrive

• Disability below 40%, or a certificate that does not state a percentage.
• No UDID card or enrolment, now the fastest-growing cause of return.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT credit bounces back.
• Name mismatch between the disability certificate, Aadhaar and the school record. Get the school record corrected to match Aadhaar rather than the other way round.
• School not recognised, which makes the whole claim ineligible.
• Duplicate claim where the same student was also processed under the central pre-matric scholarship for that year.
• Expired disability certificate for conditions where the certificate was issued as temporary and needed re-assessment.

Where do I complain?

• District Social Welfare Officer, Zilla Parishad. The first appellate point for a rejected or unpaid case.
• Assistant Commissioner, Social Welfare for Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban.
• Divyang Kalyan Vibhag (Department of Persons with Disabilities Welfare), Government of Maharashtra, at depwd.maharashtra.gov.in.
• Social Justice and Special Assistance Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai to 022-22025251 and 022-22028660, email min.socjustice@maharashtra.gov.in.
• Aaple Sarkar grievance portal at grievances.maharashtra.gov.in for a written complaint with a tracking number.

No fee is charged at any stage. A school or an agent asking for money to "process" a disability scholarship should be reported to the District Social Welfare Officer immediately.