Department of Higher Education on Tuesday announced the disbursement for Phase-I of Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in Nagaland. Officers on special duty (OSDs), Keduosilie Keyho and Toi Pucho, addressed the media regarding the crucial changes in the scholarship distribution process for the academic year 2024–2025.
OSD Keyho informed that the scholarship payments will now be disbursed in a phased manner instead of the earlier instalment-based system. This change comes in compliance with new directives issued by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, as part of the state’s full integration with the National Scholarship Portal (NSP), the official said.
He mentioned that for the academic session 2024–25, a total of 41,793 ST students have been identified as beneficiaries. However, due to limited funds currently available – Rs.30.70 crore against a total requirement of Rs.56.38 crore, the department will begin by releasing funds to 22,000 students in the first phase, covering approximately 52.64% of applicants. These students will receive a one-time full payment through Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The remaining 11,342 students could not be authenticated due to issues with Aadhaar seeding. However, Keyho mentioned that SMS notifications have been sent, and students are encouraged to update their Aadhaar and complete e-KYC formalities promptly for inclusion in the second phase of disbursement.
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The OSD also clarified that this phase-wise payment system is mandated by the NSP framework, which does not support instalment-based transactions. The system has automatically selected the first batch of 22,000 authenticated students for disbursement, ensuring fairness and transparency in the process, he added.
The scholarship covers four categories of courses:
- Group 1: Professional and Ph.D. courses
- Group 2: Postgraduate and bachelor’s degree programs
- Group 3: Diploma-level studies
- Group 4: Higher secondary (Class 11 & 12)
“The moment this press conference concludes, we will initiate the scholarship disbursement, likely within a day or two,” Keyho said.
The officials expressed confidence in the system’s ability to function smoothly going forward, aided by strong support from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
