Nagaland begins disbursement of post-matric scholarships to ST students for 2024-25

A press conference was held at the Directorate of Higher Education, Nagaland, on June 17, to address the disbursement of post-matric scholarships for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students for the academic year 2024-2025.

Officials on Special Duty (OSDs), Keduosielie Keyho and Tol Pucho of the Higher Education Department, briefed the media on the scholarship status. They informed that the scheme follows a 90:10 funding pattern, with contributions from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, and the Government of Nagaland.

A total of 41,793 students have been identified as beneficiaries, requiring Rs 5,638.06 lakhs, while the currently available funds amount to Rs 3,070 lakhs (Central Share: Rs 2,728.89 lakhs + State Share: Rs 341.11 lakhs). Given the funding shortfall, the department will adopt a phase-wise disbursement strategy.

In the first phase, full scholarships will be disbursed to 22,000 students (52.64%), covering those whose credentials have been successfully authenticated by the system. A total of 30,451 students have been verified so far, while 11,342 applicants remain unauthenticated. SMS alerts with necessary instructions have been sent to the affected students. The remaining eligible students will be covered in the next phase once additional funds are received.

For the first time, the scholarship will be disbursed through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) instead of the previous PFMS system. Unlike the past, where payments were released in instalments, the new system mandates one-time full disbursement per beneficiary, though still rolled out in phases.

All payments will now be made through Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Beneficiaries are required to link their bank accounts with Aadhaar to receive the funds.

Officials stated that this transition aligns with the Government of India’s goal of end-to-end digitisation and enhanced transparency in scholarship distribution.