Kohima: 22,000 Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in Nagaland will soon receive the Post Matric Scholarship (PMS) in the first phase of disbursement for the academic year 2024–25, officials of the Directorate of Higher Education confirmed on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference at the conference hall of the Directorate of Higher Education, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Keduosielie Keyho briefed on the status and changes in the disbursement of the PMS for ST students in Nagaland. Due to limited funds currently available, the scholarship will be disbursed in phases, starting with more than half of the total registered beneficiaries.
The centrally sponsored scheme (CSS), with a 90:10 funding pattern shared between the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, and the Government of Nagaland, aims to support ST students in pursuing higher education.
He informed that for the 2024–25 academic session, a total of 41,793 students have been identified as beneficiaries. The total amount required to cover all beneficiaries is Rs 568.06 lakh However, only Rs 3070 lakh, including both central and state shares, is currently available.
In the first phase, students will receive the full scholarship amount as a one-time payment. The remaining beneficiaries will be covered in the next phase, after submission of the utilisation certificate of the first phase.
He noted that this year marks a shift in the payment mechanism as the scholarship will be disbursed through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP), replacing the earlier method via the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).
Unlike previous years, where payments were made in installments to all beneficiaries based on available funds, the NSP does not support installment-based disbursement. Instead, beneficiaries will receive the full scholarship amount in a single payment, albeit in phases.
The disbursement will follow Aadhaar-Based Payment protocols. He requested all beneficiaries to ensure that their bank accounts are seeded with their Aadhaar numbers and enabled for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to receive the scholarship.
He said the scholarship will be released within a day or two. Following the first phase and the submission of the Utilisation Certificate, the next phase is expected to be rolled out within a month. Under the PMS scholarship, he informed that there are four beneficiary categories: PhD scholars, undergraduate and postgraduate students, diploma students, and 10+2 students.
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