Pandit Deendayal Educational Excellence Award - Uttarakhand

What is the Pandit Deendayal Educational Excellence Award?

Pandit Deendayal Educational Excellence Award is a cash-award scheme run by the Secondary Education Department under the Department of Education, Government of Uttarakhand. The scheme, named after Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, rewards two things at once: the schools that produce the best results in the Uttarakhand Board examinations at state level, and the individual students who finish in the state top ten at High School and Intermediate.

The design of the scheme is unusual and worth understanding before anything else. There is no application form. The Secondary Education Department receives the merit list from the Uttarakhand Board of School Education after the annual results are declared, obtains approval from the competent authority for the award amounts, and forwards the list to the Chief Education Officer of each district. The Chief Education Officer then issues drafts to the schools according to the number of eligible students, and the schools pass the money to the students: directly, or at an award ceremony.

That makes the award a recognition mechanism rather than a benefit a family applies for. The only thing a student can do to qualify is finish in the top ten of the Uttarakhand Board examination.

How much does the award pay?

For schools

The three schools giving the best results at state level receive:

• Intermediate level: Rs 10,00,000, Rs 5,00,000 and Rs 3,00,000 for first, second and third place.
• High School level: Rs 8,00,000, Rs 4,00,000 and Rs 2,00,000 for first, second and third place.

For students, Intermediate level

• 1st rank: Rs 21,000
• 2nd rank: Rs 15,000
• 3rd rank: Rs 11,000
• 4th to 10th rank: Rs 5,100 each

For students, High School level

• 1st rank: Rs 15,000
• 2nd rank: Rs 11,000
• 3rd rank: Rs 8,000
• 4th to 10th rank: Rs 5,100 each

Across both levels, twenty students a year are covered by the individual awards, ten at High School and ten at Intermediate, plus six schools. Where two or more students share a rank, the department works from the Board's merit list as declared, so the number of drafts in a given year can exceed ten per level.

Who is eligible for the Pandit Deendayal Educational Excellence Award?

Schools that can receive the award:

• The school must be affiliated to the Uttarakhand Board of School Education.
• The school must be among the three best-performing schools at state level in the High School or Intermediate examination.

Students who can receive the award:

• The student must be among the top 10 rank holders in the Uttarakhand Board High School or Intermediate examination.

Who cannot apply / is not eligible:

• Students of CBSE, ICSE or any board other than the Uttarakhand Board — the award is tied strictly to the state board's merit list.
• Students ranked 11 or lower, however small the mark gap.
• Schools outside the state-level top three in a given examination, even if they topped their district.
• Anyone attempting to apply directly. There is no application route, so a form submitted to a school or a district office achieves nothing.
• Private or compartment candidates who do not appear in the Board's regular merit list for the year.

How to apply for the Pandit Deendayal Educational Excellence Award

1. The Uttarakhand Board of School Education declares the High School and Intermediate results and publishes the state merit list.
2. The Secondary Education Department receives the list from the Board and obtains approval from the competent authority for the amounts payable to the top-ten students at each level.
3. The department forwards the approved list to the Chief Education Officer of each district concerned.
4. The Chief Education Officer issues drafts to the schools according to the number of eligible students in each school.
5. The school hands the draft to the student, either directly or at a public award ceremony held for the purpose.
6. A student who does not receive the amount should follow up with the school, then with the office of the Chief Education Officer of the district.

Students are not required to submit any application at any stage of this sequence. What a topper should do is keep the Board mark sheet safe and respond promptly when the school asks for identity or bank details, because the school has to account for each draft it receives.

What documents may be asked for?

Key dates in the award cycle

• Result declaration: the Uttarakhand Board typically declares High School and Intermediate results between April and June each year.
• List transfer: the Secondary Education Department acts after results, once the merit list is received from the Board.
• Disbursal: drafts are issued by Chief Education Officers to schools, and many districts time the handover with award functions.

Because the whole cycle depends on the result calendar, there is no separate last date to worry about and nothing to file in advance.

Common problems and how to fix them

• Money not received after a top-ten rank. Ask the school whether the draft has arrived from the Chief Education Officer. Most delays sit at the school level, not at the department.
• Rank shared between students. The department works from the Board list as published; the school should report the exact number of eligible students so the correct number of drafts is issued.
• Student has left the school after the examination. The draft still goes to the school that presented the candidate, so keep the school informed of a current address and phone number.
• Name spelt differently on the mark sheet and the bank account, which can stall encashment. Get the correction done through the Board before depositing the draft.

Who does what in this award

Three offices share the work, and knowing which one holds your file saves a lot of wasted trips.

• Uttarakhand Board of School Education (UBSE), Ramnagar declares the High School and Intermediate results and publishes the state merit list. The Board decides who is in the top ten; the Education Department does not re-rank.
• Secondary Education Department, Government of Uttarakhand receives that list, gets the award amounts approved by the competent authority, and forwards the approved list downward.
• Chief Education Officer of the district issues the drafts to schools according to the number of eligible students in each school.
• The school hands the draft to the student, directly or at a ceremony.

Notice that the money reaches the student through the school, not through a bank transfer from the department. That is why a student who has changed schools or moved out of the district after the examination should leave a working phone number with the school that presented them for the examination.

The scheme's school awards work on the same list. The Rs 10,00,000 and Rs 8,00,000 top prizes are institutional grants to the schools with the best state-level results, not amounts distributed among their students, and they are released to the school through the same departmental route.

Grievance route

• The school that presented the candidate: first point of contact.
• Chief Education Officer (CEO) of the district. The office that issues the drafts.
• Directorate of School Education, Uttarakhand, and the Secondary Education Department through schooleducation.uk.gov.in.
• Uttarakhand CM Helpline 1905 for a complaint that is not resolved at the district level.

The award carries no fee at any stage. No school, officer or agent is authorised to deduct anything from the award amount payable to a student.