Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities – The Government of India spends a considerable chunk of its resources for the development of various religious minorities in India. Communities including Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been notified as minority communities by the government. Under the ambit of the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MOMA), the government regulates various developmental programmes aimed at the upliftment of minority communities. Among these developmental programmes, scholarships are the most notable.
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities is one among a number of significant scholarships provided by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. This MOMA scholarship is particularly aimed at the wards of minorities studying in classes 1 to 10. The government offers this scholarship each year so as to alleviate the financial burden of education for the parents from minority communities. Due to the ever-increasing cost of education, there has been a proportional increase in the drop-out rates of students. Scholarships like these aim to reduce this increasing drop-out rate.
Latest Update:
The applications for the Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities will continue till 31st October 2023.
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities – Objective
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities was launched with the objective of encouraging the parents from minority communities to send their wards to schools and ensure that all the children have access to basic education up to class 10. With more and more parents opting to not send their children to school because of the increasing cost of education, the Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities has proved beneficial in decreasing the drop-out rates of students.
This MOMA scholarship also aims to utilize education to empower students from minority communities. Education, in turn, provides a level playing field in the extremely competitive employment arena. Equality in employment opportunities also helps in the upliftment of the socio-economic conditions of the minority communities.
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities – Eligibility
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities is aimed at the minority students studying in classes 1 to 10. So, the eligible candidates for this MOMA scholarship must belong to any of the minority communities. The following are the eligibility requirements for Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities-
- Applicants must belong to a minority community as notified by the Government of India. These include Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains.
- The candidates must be studying in class 1 to 10 in a government or private school.
- Students applying for this MOMA scholarship should have scored a minimum of 50% marks in the previous final examination.
- The annual family income of the candidate’s parents/guardian should not exceed INR 1 lakh. This annual income comprises of total income from all the sources.
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities – Key dates
| SI. No. | Event | Key dates* |
| 1. | Applications open | July–August |
| 2. | Application deadline | October-November |
*The key dates mentioned above are tentative and may change on the discretion of the scholarship provider.
For this year, the last application dates are:
| Scholarship Scheme | Application Deadline | Defective Application Verification Date | Institute Verification |
| Pre Matric Scholarships Scheme for Minorities | 31-10-2022 | 15-11-2022 | 15-11-2022 |
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities – Application procedure
Just like many other centrally-sponsored scholarships, the Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities is also available on the National Scholarship Portal or the NSP. For those unaware of NSP, it is a one-stop solution for all the scholarships provided by the Central Government. So instead of going through multiple notifications and advertisements to check the latest scholarships, one can instead visit the NSP. The NSP offers a single automated platform for scholarship application, receipt, sanction and disbursal.
One can follow the below steps to apply for the Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities using NSP:
- The applicant first needs to visit the official website of the NSP.
- One then needs to register as a new user by providing all the required details.
- Provide domicile details, name, date of birth, mobile number, gender, email ID and select the scholarship to apply.
- Completing this step will generate an OTP that will be used to verify the mobile number.
- Use the OTP received on the registered mobile to log in on NSP and fill the form.
- This will generate an application ID and password that can be used for future references.
However, it must be noted that no changes can be made once the application has been submitted.
Also read: National Scholarship Portal – A Hub for Government Scholarships
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities – Documents required
While applying for the Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities, an applicant needs to upload a certain set of documents on the application portal. The following documents are required during the application procedure:
- Domicile certificate for the respective state
- Self-declaration of minority community certificate by the student
- Self-attested copy of previous academic mark sheet
- Copy of Aadhar Enrollment/Aadhar Card
- Income certificate issued by designated state/UT authority
- Proof of bank account in the name of the student or joint account with mother/father
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities – Benefits
The students selected for this MOMA scholarship will receive financial assistance for admission/tuition fee as well as maintenance allowance.
| Sr. No. | Item | Hostellers* | Day Scholars |
| 1 | Admission fee from class 6 to 10 | INR 500 per annum | INR 500 per annum |
| 2 | Tuition fee for class 6 to 10 | INR 350 per month | INR 350 per month |
| 3 | Maintenance allowance is payable for a period not exceeding 10 months in an academic year | ||
| i) Class 1 to 5 | Nil | INR 100 per month | |
| ii) Class 6 to 10 | INR 600 per month | INR 100 per month |
*Hostellers include students who are staying in hostel of the school/institute concerned or those provided by the State Government/Union Territory Administration concerned.
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities – Terms and Conditions
Just like all other scholarship schemes, the award of this MOMA scholarship is subject to various terms and conditions too. The most prominent terms and conditions that must be kept in mind while applying for this scholarship are mentioned below-
- 30% of the scholarship will be designated specifically for the girl students. These earmarked scholarships can be awarded to eligible boy students in case there are not sufficient eligible girl students available.
- The number of scholarships for minorities available in a year is fixed and limited. In case of selection conflict, weightage will be given to poverty than marks.
- The scholarship will be for the duration of the entire course. However, the maintenance allowance will only be given for 10 months in an academic year.
- The responsibility for the implementation of the scheme will lie with the State Government/Union Territory administration.
- No more than two students from a family can avail the benefits of this scholarship.
- In order to avail of uninterrupted benefits of this scholarship, a student needs to maintain regular attendance.
- The claim of a student of being an outstation student not residing in the hostel of the concerned school/institution will be certified by the respective school/institution.
- A student’s scholarship may be suspended or cancelled in case the student is found violating the school discipline.
- False statements during the application procedure will lead to the direct cancellation of the awarded scholarship. In case some amount of scholarship has already been paid, it will be duly recovered.
- Course fee/tuition fee will be credited to the school’s/institute’s bank account. However, the maintenance allowance will be credited to the bank account of the student.
- The students selected for this scholarship will not be allowed to simultaneously avail the benefits of any other scholarship scheme.
- There will be constant evaluation of the scheme by the Ministry or any other agency at regular intervals.
- It must be noted that the regulations of the scholarship can be changed at any time at the discretion of the Government of India.
- Renewal of scholarship: The Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities can also be renewed in the next academic year after the production of a certificate implying that the student has scored at least 50% marks.
Contact details
In case any query still remains, applicants can contact the respective authorities either through phone or mail. One can make contact through the details mentioned below.
Phone: 0120 – 6619540
Email: helpdesk@nsp.gov.in
Also read: MOMA scholarships – Minority scholarships