Education is the biggest tool that can eradicate poverty in a developing country like India. Anyone despite their social and economic background has the right to get educated.
Back in those days, education was seen as a privilege, but of late education is a right. The central government of India along with the state government takes various measures to ensure that every kid in the state gets educated. This particular scholarship is launched by the state government of West Bengal for children belonging to minority communities. It is seen that many kids drop out when they reach higher classes in the minority communities. This particular scheme ensures to eliminate the issue and thus promotes every student to complete higher education.
The West Bengal government launched this scholarship to help the minority community children to complete their higher level of education. To facilitate this, the government launched a portal on 01, August 2020.
Students from communities and religions like Sikh, Muslim, Jainism, Parsee, Buddhism and Christianity can apply for this scheme. The funds are allocated by the state government of West Bengal and this is seen as a great initiative to enhance the education level among the minorities and to make the dreams come true of the students belonging to the minority and most vulnerable section of the society. The current chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee announced this particular scheme.
The types of scholarships that are available under this particular scheme are pre metric, post-matric and merit cum mean scholarships. As of now, only an online application mode is available to enjoy the benefits of this scholarship.
The objective of the scholarship
The main idea behind launching this particular scholarship is to ensure that money is not a hindrance for the children belonging to the minority community to pursue higher education.
The children who are willing to learn but do not have enough financial resources struggle to get even the basic education from class 1 to 9. Without this basic education, it becomes really hard to survive in a world that is completely fueled by the fruits of education. Lack of education is not only leading to the unemployment problem but also serves as a trigger point for child labor.
Taking all of these into consideration, the government has devised this scholarship. As the class increases, the fee required to pay also increases. The parents of children belonging to minority communities are unable to afford such fees and the students drop out. To avoid these happenings, the government has launched the scholarship.
Types of Aikyashree Scholarship
Under this scholarship, there are three major types every type is described:
- Pre Matric Scholarships
- Post Matric Scholarships
- Merit Cum Means Scholarship
Pre Matric Scholarship
This is provided to children to get a basic education. The children belonging to extremely poor families who do not have the basic funds to even afford the education from classes 1 to 5 can avail this scholarship. In those cases, they resort to child labor and also turn out to illegal ways to survive and acquire money.
Post-Matric scholarships
The Post Matric Scholarships are provided to the children whose families can offer the basic level of education but are not able to afford the fees for higher classes. The students who are meritorious, but unable to pursue higher education, due to lack of funds can avail of this scholarship.
Merit Cum Means Scholarship
The scholarship is provided to students when they are pursuing college-level education, including technical and science courses like engineering and medicine. This particular level of education demands a very high fee from the parents. They are unable to afford such a huge sum. Under this sub-scheme, the students can avail themselves of scholarships to pay fees for their college education.
What are the features of the Aikyashree scholarship?
These are the features of the Aikyashree Scholarship.
- Anyone who is belonging to the minority community and they are financially very weak that they could not afford education can avail this scheme.
- Education ranging from class 1 to Doctorate level is covered under this scholarship.
- Different incentives are also provided along with the scholarship.
- Opportunities generated by education are also included.
- The online portal promotes clarity of information and fastens the process.
The older applications are stored in the portal that it becomes easy for the students to renew the application. Case tracking of the application is also possible in the portal. A direct bank transfer is possible as the application processing is done online. The females belonging to this minority community and are unable to afford education are given the toughest priority.
What are the eligibility criteria for this scholarship?
The eligibility criteria for Aikyashree Scholarship are listed below. Depending on the type of application, the various eligibility criteria vary.
The first and foremost criteria and which is common throughout all the Scholarship types is that the applicant must be a citizen of West Bengal and must prove the nativity aspect of it.
Pre metric and post-Metric Scholarship
The applicant must produce all the relevant documents that showcase that he or she belongs to a proper and recognized school or college institution.
The applicant should have scored 50 per cent marks in all the examinations conducted earlier.
The annual income of the entire family put together should not exceed 2 lakhs.
The applicant must study in an institute based out of West Bengal.
This clearly states that students studying in institutes outside the state of West Bengal cannot avail themselves of the benefits provided by this scheme.
Merit Cum Scholarship
The merit cum scholarship is provided to the students who wish to pursue college education be it any professional course. The applicant should have scored 50 per cent marks in the school passing examination. The total income of the family put together should not exceed 2.5. For the merit cum means scholarship, the students studying in institutes outside the state of West Bengal can apply. The only criteria they should abide by is that they should belong to the minority community based out of West Bengal.
What are the incentives provided to the various applications?
Depending on the class, incentives and allowances are provided.
For classes 1-5, the total amount of 1200 is provided to the day scholars and from classes 6 to 10, a total amount of 5,500 is provided. For classes 11th and 12th, a total amount of 10200 is provided.
For undergraduate and postgraduate courses, a total of 6600 is provided. This is for arts and science courses for the technical courses like engineering and medicine, the total amount that is provided is INR 27,000.
What are the documents needed for the application?
Be it any type of scholarship, these are the documents that are vital passport size, photograph, signature Aadhar card, address proof, community certificate, income certificate, result sheet or mark sheet, mobile number, bank account details, Ration Card and Bank IFSC Code.
Ensure that all of these documents are completely scanned as the application process is completely online, and nothing is available in offline mode.
What is the application procedure?
The major step for any scholarship is registering the information of students online. When the student registers his information online, the scheme to which they are eligible should be selected after completion of these two steps. Once the registration is successful, student login detail is created. By making use of these details, the student can access the portal.
What are the steps to follow to apply for a scholarship?
These are the steps you need to follow to apply for a scholarship using the website.
- Visit the website using the URL wbmdfcscholarship.org.
- The student’s area tab must be selected.
- If you are a fresh applicant, click on Fresh registration, if you had already registered, click on registered students login.
- The following page appears:
Enter the municipality and district details. After this, you have to enter the various student details like name, father’s name, gender, date of birth, bank account number Bank, IFSC code, mother’s name, registered mobile number. After entering all of these details, enter the captcha code and click on submit.
Your account gets registered on the site. Once an account is registered, the login credentials display and automated SMS is sent to the registered mobile number and the registered email address.
Now, click on registered students, log in, and enter the login credentials to enter into the website.
You could also renew your application by clicking on the student renewal option. The very same login credentials can be used for the renewal of the application as well. If you have entered an old bank account detail, that could also be changed by making use of the invalid bank account updation tab. Once you apply, you can track the status of the application as well.
You can also avail the help of a helpline number online if you are facing any kind of issues while using the website. These are the steps you need to follow while making use of the website. It is very easy to use this website. The support team provides you with proper input for any error you encounter.
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