Centre extends Means-cum-Merit scholarship scheme by 5 years

The Means-cum-Merit scholarship scheme benefits meritorious students from economically weaker sections of the society with scholarships through the National Means cum Merit Scholarship (NMMS) exam.

Means-cum-Merit scholarship scheme for the financial years 2022-27 has been extended by the central government with an outlay of INR 1,827 crore. Talking about the extension of the scholarship, Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of education and minister of skill development and entrepreneurship said that the initiative has been taken to ensure continuity of education at the secondary level and to prevent students from dropping out at Class 8.

The minister through his official Twitter account said, “To address the issue of drop-out after class VIII and ensure continuity of education at the secondary stage, PM @narendramodi ji’s govt. has approved the continuation of Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme with an outlay of ₹1827 crore for the next 5 years.”

“The scheme aims to provide financial assistance @ ₹12,000 per annum per student to over 14.76 lakh meritorious students from the economically weaker sections in the next 5 years. The scheme has benefitted over 22 lakh poor students across the country since its launch in 2008-09,” said Pradhan.

About Means-cum-Merit Scholarship

The Means-cum-Merit scholarship scheme benefits meritorious students from economically weaker sections of the society with scholarships through the National Means cum Merit Scholarship (NMMS) exam. Through NMMS exams Class 9 students are selected and awarded scholarships every year to continue their studies until Class 12. The MCM scholarship scheme was first launched in the year 2008-09. Since then, about 22.06 scholarships have been sanctioned, said a statement from the ministry of education. The objective of the extended phase of the scheme is to provide scholarships to 14.76 lakh students.

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