Assam opens Nijut Moina, Nijut Babu applications, aids flood-hit schools

The Assam government on August 6 opened applications for its flagship Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Moina and Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Babu schemes, alongside announcing financial assistance for schools and students affected by the recent floods in eastern Assam.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the application process for the two stipend schemes at an event in Guwahati. During the programme, he also released Rs 15.86 crore for 793 flood-affected schools in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat districts to support restoration of educational infrastructure.

The chief minister further sanctioned more than Rs 4.26 crore from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF) for 21,025 students in Sivasagar and Charaideo districts to help replace books, stationery and other study materials lost in the floods.

Addressing the gathering, Sarma said the Nijut Moina and Nijut Babu schemes were designed to promote academic commitment and encourage students to pursue higher education.

He said the primary objective of the Nijut Moina scheme was to curb child marriage by supporting girls to continue their education. Since child marriage does not affect boys in the same way, the financial assistance under the Nijut Babu scheme has been kept comparatively lower, he added.

According to the chief minister, the Nijut Moina scheme was launched with a target of benefiting 10 lakh girl students across the state. Around 1.6 lakh girls received assistance during 2024-25, while the number of beneficiaries increased to four lakh after the scheme was expanded in 2025-26. Another one lakh girl students are expected to be brought under the scheme during the current financial year.

Sarma said the Nijut Babu scheme, which supported 50,000 boys last year, would be expanded to cover an additional 70,000 students this year, taking the total number of beneficiaries to 1.2 lakh.

Under both schemes, students enrolled in higher secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate courses receive financial assistance from the state government. From this year, girl students pursuing polytechnic courses and those studying in the seventh semester of integrated postgraduate programmes will also be eligible for support.

The chief minister said only students maintaining regular attendance, discipline and academic commitment would qualify for the benefits. He added that the financial assistance under the Nijut Moina scheme would be enhanced in the future to further reduce the cost of education for families.

Urging students to develop skills beyond their core subjects, Sarma said an undergraduate or postgraduate degree alone would no longer be sufficient in an increasingly competitive job market. He also expressed concern over low enrolment in science education in Assam and stressed the need for greater participation in the discipline.

Referring to the recent floods in eastern Assam, Sarma said many schools had sustained structural damage or were rendered unusable due to silt and mud deposits. He said restoring educational institutions at the earliest was essential to prevent students in the affected districts from falling behind academically.

He added that schools found to have suffered permanent damage would receive additional financial assistance after detailed assessments are completed.