Kerala Budget 2026: Free education upto undergraduate level; PhD scholars get Rs 15,000 monthly

The Government of Kerala has decided to make undergraduate degree courses in arts and science colleges free, expanding a policy that earlier covered students only up to class 12. This is part of a wide-ranging push to strengthen both school and higher education, while also addressing student mobility, research funding and infrastructure gaps in the education sector, as outlined in the Kerala budget 2026, presented in the state assembly today.

State finance minister KN Balagopal also announced that school students will now be brought under an accident and life insurance scheme, aimed at improving financial protection for families and ensuring greater security for children.

The budget also acknowledged the growing trend of students leaving the state or the country for higher education and skill training, estimating the annual financial outflow at around Rs 8,000 crore.

To counter this, the government proposed setting up a ‘Global School’ in Kerala, focusing on advanced technologies, vocational education and future-oriented skills, with special attention to techno-economics. An initial Rs 10 crore has been allocated as the State’s contribution to kick-start the project.

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Kerala Budget: Higher education, research, infrastructure

To improve the quality and local relevance of higher education, the budget proposed closer collaboration between universities, research institutions and local self-government bodies.

For this purpose, Rs 10 crore per year has been allocated to each district planning committee to enhance technical support for development projects.

Addressing accommodation challenges faced by students, the government announced a public hostel scheme for students of government colleges, to be rolled out first in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode. An allocation of Rs 10 crore has been made for preparatory work in the initial phase.

Kerala State Budget: Scholarships, research funds

Student support schemes have received a significant boost. Full-time PhD scholars without other fellowships will receive a monthly assistance of Rs 15,000, and a total of Rs 38 crore 76 lakh has been earmarked for scholarships and fellowships, including the chief minister’s Student excellence award and the Kerala research fellowship.

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The state budget highlighted Kerala’s strong performance in higher education at the national level and allocated Rs 851 crore 46 lakh to implement the recommendations of the higher education commission and the four-year undergraduate programme, marking a notable increase over last year.

Additionally, Rs 259 crore 9 lakh has been set aside for university activities, while the Technical Education sector has been allocated Rs 295 crore, along with further funding for Centres of Excellence, digital university systems, science outreach, law colleges, skill development and infrastructure in government institutions.