Government to Fund Competitive Exam Coaching for SC/OBC Students

The government will now take up the responsibility of paying for the coaching classes of Dalit and backward class students who aspire to study for competitive examinations.

The cap of Rs 20,000 was removed in the revised version of Free Coaching scheme for students belonging to SC and OBC categories.

The scheme was recently revised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and now also binds good coaching institutes to provide quality education and guidance to SC and OBC candidates.

Coaching will be provided for Group 'A' and 'B' organized by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Officers level exams conducted by Banks, Insurance Companies and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). Apart from these coaching for exams such as JEE Mains, AIPMT, CAT, CLAT and international exams like SAT, GRE, GMAT and TOEFL will also be provided.

Also Read:SC and OBC Students to get Free Coaching for Competitive Exams

As per the initial procedure, the Ministry will call applications from institutions that provide coaching for competitive exams. All the applications will be scrutinized by a committee and on institutes will be shortlisted on the basis of some parameters.

An official from the ministry stated that as per the revised scheme, all states and union territories will have to submit at least 5 and not more than 10 coaching institutes. These institutes will be shortlisted on the basis of their success record. The scheme also mentions that the institutions with units in different states or districts will be preferred.

The stipend for such students has also been increased. From now on, local students will get Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 whereas outstation candidates will get Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000.

Also Read:Top Institutes Offering Coaching in MAT

Specially-abled students will get a stipend of Rs 2,000 per month as reader allowance, escort allowance, helper allowance etc.

Coaching institutes will be provided with direct access to grant-in-aid and stipend released by the government.

SC and OBC category students having a total family income from all sources of Rs 6 lakh will be able to benefit from this scheme.

There will be a performance check after 3 years of implementation of the scheme on the basis of the performance of SC and OBC candidates who will be provided coaching under the Scheme.