MCM scholarship scheme extended for 5 years: Dharmendra Pradhan

NEW DELHI: The central government has modified and extended the Means-cum-Merit scholarship scheme for the financial years 2022-27 with an outlay of Rs 1,827 crore to ensure continuity of education at the secondary level and to prevent students from dropping out at Class 8, said Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of education and minister of skill development and entrepreneurship.

“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,” Pradhan said on Twitter.

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. pic.twitter.com/J5gi3Imhw3

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) February 19, 2022

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The Means-cum-Merit scholarship scheme provides scholarships to meritorious students from economically weaker sections of the society through the National Means cum Merit Scholarship (NMMS) exam. The students from Class 9 who are selected through the NMMS exams will be awarded scholarships every year to continue their studies till 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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“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.