Scholarships disbursed transparently with no discrepancies — Higher Education department

KOHIMA — Nagaland’s Minister for Higher Education and Tourism, Temjen Imna Along, stated on Wednesday that the distribution of post-matric scholarships is conducted in a clear and transparent manner by the Higher Education department.

Addressing a press conference in Kohima, he stated that there have been no discrepancies in the scholarship distribution process since 2018.

Along explained that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs provides funding for the post-matric ST Scholarship in two installments and the state government, which contributes 10% of the total amount, cannot distribute the entire scholarship in one installment. He maintained that the Chief Minister of Nagaland, responsible for finance, has never delayed the state’s share of the funding.

The minister acknowledged that there may have been delays in scholarship disbursement due to the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct during recent elections, which affected the release of funds to the state. However, he assured that the state received the funds soon after the code of conduct was lifted and the distribution process is underway.

He said that 42,817 students have received the post-matric ST Scholarship, while explaining that uploading such a large number of transactions is a time-consuming process as the system can only handle approximately 4,000–5,000 transactions per day. He appealed for the students’ understanding, explaining that all transactions are conducted under PFMS, requiring authentication of student names and bank accounts.

He clarified that the first phase of scholarship disbursement began on June 13, with the majority of students receiving their funds, except those with inactive bank accounts.

Regarding merit scholarships, Along stated that the Finance Department has already approved the funds and authentication is currently underway by the Department of Treasuries and Accounts. He assured that the scholarships would be released within the next two to three days, with no discrepancies.

Further, he urged students who have received scholarships to understand the variations in amounts received, highlighting the difference in rates for hostel residents and day scholars.

More than 50 thousand scholarship applications received

Providing details regarding the post-matric scholarship distribution, Keduosielie Keyho, OSD (Scholarship), said that the department received over 50,000 scholarship applications, but after verification, 42,817 students were identified as beneficiaries for the 2023–24 academic year under the Central Sector Scheme (CSS) post-matric scholarship for ST students.

The first installment, amounting to INR 1781.89 lakh, was disbursed, including INR 1603.7 lakh from the central government and INR 178.19 lakh from the state government. The second installment, totalling INR 3529.11 lakh, is scheduled for disbursement in the next phase. This includes INR 3136.99 lakh from the central government and INR 392.12 lakh from the state government, with the sanction currently pending.

He said that 40,528 have received payments, 1,586 are awaiting payment processing, 21 have invalid bank accounts, 55 payments bounced, 38 were withheld pending document confirmation from institutions, and 589 failed bank account validation.

The department is also disbursing the state merit and research scholarship to 4,424 beneficiaries, amounting to INR 625.38 lakh. This includes 4,330 beneficiaries for the State Merit Scholarship (INR 630 lakh) and 94 beneficiaries for the Research Scholarship (INR 26.38 lakh), Keyho informed.

One-time payment from 2024–25

The department announced that starting from the 2024–25 academic year, the post-matric scholarship for ST students will be disbursed in a single payment, unlike the current system of two installments. Additionally, the scholarship will be integrated with the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) from the same academic year.

Tol Pucho, a computer programmer, explained the payment process for both fresh applicants and renewals. Renewal applications, which have already been processed and have authenticated PFMS accounts, can receive payments quickly by simply uploading their PFMS code. However, fresh applicants require additional steps. Their bank accounts need to be uploaded and authenticated by the system, then downloaded, cross-checked, and verified to ensure the name matches the account holder’s name as per the system.

For students whose accounts are not validated by the system, the department will contact them to verify their account information or assist in opening new accounts, he said.

The department informed the public that the list of beneficiary students will be uploaded to their website within a day or two, allowing students to check their status. The scholarship application verification process was also highlighted, involving two levels: initial verification by the educational institution and subsequent verification by the department.

Further, the department officials mentioned that they have approached the Ministry to request an increase in the income ceiling for the post-matric ST scholarship. The current ceiling is INR 2.5 lakh, and the department hopes to increase it to INR 8 lakh, as the current limit has been in place for over 10 years.