West Bengal Pre-Matric Scholarship for SC/ST Students

What is the West Bengal Pre-Matric Scholarship for SC/ST students?

West Bengal Pre-Matric Scholarship is the set of school-stage grants that the Backward Classes Welfare Department pays to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students studying below matriculation. The purpose is plain: to stop children from dropping out between the upper primary years and the Madhyamik examination because a household cannot meet the cost of books, uniforms, travel and exam fees.

The department delivers the support through two connected tracks.

Sikshashree is the state's own scheme for SC and ST day-scholar students of Classes V to VIII. According to the Backward Classes Welfare Department, the grant rates are:

• Rs 750 per year for SC students in Classes V, VI and VII
• Rs 800 per year for SC students in Class VIII
• Rs 800 per year for ST students in Classes V to VIII

Pre-matric scholarship for Classes IX and X is the centrally sponsored component for SC and ST students, administered in West Bengal by the same department and applied for through the same portal. Rates and the parental income ceiling for this component are notified fresh each academic session, so the figure to rely on is the one on the current OASIS notice, not a rate carried forward from an earlier year.

Both tracks run on OASIS, Online Application for Scholarship in Studies. The Backward Classes Welfare Department's scholarship system at oasis.gov.in. The department's stated aim under Sikshashree is to reach 100 per cent of eligible students in every school, which is why head teachers are required to check the award list against their own enrolment register and report students who have been left out.

Who is eligible for the pre-matric scholarship in West Bengal?

A student qualifies if:

• The student belongs to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe notified for West Bengal and holds a valid caste certificate issued by the competent authority of the state.
• The student is a resident of West Bengal and is studying in a recognised school in the state.
• The student is enrolled in a class covered by the scheme: Classes V to VIII for Sikshashree, or Classes IX and X for the centrally sponsored pre-matric component.
• The student was promoted to that class in the current academic session and attends regularly.
• Under Sikshashree specifically, the student is a day scholar living at home rather than in a government hostel.

A student is not eligible if:

• The family does not hold a West Bengal SC or ST certificate. A caste certificate from another state does not qualify a student for the state grant.
• The student is in a class outside the covered range, for example Classes I to IV, which are served by other departmental provisions.
• The student is already drawing another scholarship for the same class and the same session for the same purpose. Double benefit for one academic year is not allowed and is the single check that OASIS enforces hardest.
• The student is staying in a government or government-aided hostel and claiming the Sikshashree day-scholar grant, since hostel students are supported through the hostel route instead.
• The student's caste certificate details do not match the Aadhaar record and the mismatch is not corrected.

What documents are needed?

Keep the caste certificate number, the Aadhaar number and the bank account number written down before starting the online form. A single mistyped digit in the account number is the most common cause of a failed credit.

How to apply for the West Bengal pre-matric scholarship

1. Open the OASIS portal at oasis.gov.in at the start of the academic session, after the Backward Classes Welfare Department publishes the notice inviting applications for the year.
2. Register the student with name, date of birth, caste, caste certificate number, Aadhaar number and mobile number. Enter the name exactly as it appears on the caste certificate.
3. Fill in the academic details, the school's DISE code, the class, the section, the roll number and the marks obtained in the previous class.
4. Enter the bank account details, the account number, the account holder's name and the IFSC code of the branch. Check these twice against the passbook.
5. Upload the scanned documents: caste certificate, mark sheet, Aadhaar and the first page of the bank passbook — and submit the application. Note the application number the portal shows.
6. Give the printout and the document copies to the head teacher, because the school is the verifying authority. The application does not move to the district until the school forwards it in OASIS.
7. Track the application on OASIS with the application number, and follow up with the school if the status stays at "pending at institute" for more than a few weeks.

How to apply offline or with help

Many families in West Bengal complete the OASIS form through the school office rather than at home. Three routes work:

1. Through the school: hand the documents to the head teacher or the scholarship in-charge and ask them to enter the application in OASIS on the student's behalf.
2. At a Bangla Sahayata Kendra counter, which exists in every block and municipality and helps with state portal forms free of charge.
3. At the District Welfare Office of the Backward Classes Welfare Department, which handles cases where a caste certificate or an Aadhaar mismatch has to be sorted out before the application can be filed.

How to check your scholarship status and payment

1. Log in to oasis.gov.in with the student's registered credentials.
2. Open the application status screen and read the stage shown; pending at institute, verified by institute, sanctioned, or payment released.
3. If the status reads "sanctioned" but no money has arrived, check the bank passbook and confirm the account is active and the KYC is complete at the branch.
4. If the status reads "pending at institute", the school has not yet verified the record. Only the school can move it forward.

Why pre-matric scholarship applications get rejected

• Caste certificate mismatch, the name or spelling on the certificate differs from the Aadhaar or the school register.
• Wrong bank details. An incorrect account number or IFSC, or an account in a relative's name that is not linked to the student.
• Dormant or closed bank account, so the DBT credit bounces back.
• School did not verify the application before the department's cut-off for the session.
• Duplicate claim where the student has already been awarded another scholarship for the same class and session.
• Class not covered by the component applied for, for example a Class IV student applying under Sikshashree.

Most rejections can be fixed within the same session if you act quickly. Correct the detail in OASIS, get the school to re-verify, and inform the District Welfare Officer that a corrected application is on its way.

Where to get help

• Head teacher or scholarship in-charge at the school, the first and most effective point of contact, since the school controls verification.
• District Welfare Officer, Backward Classes Welfare Department, in your district headquarters, for caste certificate problems and unresolved cases.
• Backward Classes Welfare Department, Government of West Bengal, at anagrasarkalyan.gov.in, which hosts the OASIS link along with the caste certificate portal and the other departmental scholarship schemes.
• Bangla Sahayata Kendra at bsk.wb.gov.in for free assistance with the online form.

Applying is free. No fee is charged for registering on OASIS, for a caste certificate, or for the school's verification, and no one should be paid to "get the scholarship sanctioned".