National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme (NNMSS) 2020-21 for Your Higher Secondary Education

National Means Cum Merit Scholarship 2020 is an initiative taken by the Department of School Education & Literacy for the meritorious students of the country. Almost 1,00,000 scholarships will be distributed to promote education in India.

Features of the Means-cum-merit Scholarship 2020-21

• It is a centrally sponsored scholarship scheme.
• It is distributed among all States/ UT in the proportion of the population of the children in that age-group enrolled in the Class 8th.
• The scholarship is given to the beneficiary students on a quarterly basis.
• It can be availed by the students from Class 9th to Class 12th.
• The total duration of the scholarship is 4 years.

Reservation in the NSP NMMSS 2020

There is the provision for reservation in the allocation of the scholarships to the children. Each State/UT is given the freedom to follow their principles of reservation.

Benefits under NSP National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme 2020

Those students who are selected for this scholarship are given ₹ 500 monthly. In a year, they get ₹ 6,000.

NMMSS 2020 - Important Dates

Eligibility for the Means-cum-Merit Scholarship 2020

• This scholarship can be availed by those students whose annual family income is not more than ₹ 1,50,000.
• The student should be studying in Class 9th.
• A student should have a minimum score of 55% aggregate marks in Class 8th exam.

Distribution of the Means-cum-Merit scholarships among States/UT -

• While allocating the number of scholarships among different states, 2/3 rd weightage is given to the total number of the students enrolled in the Class 7th and Class 8th.
• The 1/3rd weightage is given to the total number of the population of the children in that age group. The population Census 2001 is taken into consideration for calculating the percentage of the children in a State/ UT.
• Once the centre allocates the fixed number of the scholarships to the States/ UT, it can be further distributed by State/ UT among various districts following the above-mentioned principle of allocation.

How to Apply

• Open the National Scholarship Portal and apply for the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme 2020-21.
• Now, select “Central Schemes” and tap on the “Department of School Education & Literacy” link.
• Fill the application form and submit all the asked details in the required field.
• Complete the application by taking its print out for future reference.

Means-cum-Merit scholarship 2020: Selection Procedure

Each State/ UT conducts its exam to select the beneficiary students for this scholarship. The NCERT prescribes the uniform procedure of selection among all States/ UT. It provides a set of guideline common to all states for conducting the exam. As per the instructions of the NCERT –

At the State/UT level, the exam can be –

• MAT (Mental Ability Test)
• SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)

MAT Examination Pattern

• Total number of questions – 90 questions
• Type of questions – 90 MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions)
• Total time period – 90 minutes
• Topics of questions – Critical Reasoning, Logical Thinking, Analogy, Classification, Pattern Perception, Numerical Reasoning, Hidden Figures etc.

SAT Examination Pattern

• Total number of questions – 90 questions
• Type of questions – MCQ type
• Total time period – 90 minutes
• Topics of questions – Question will be asked from Social Science, Mathematics, and Science of the Class 7th and Class 8th.

Means-cum-Merit scholarship 2020-21: Declaration of Results

• To get selected for this scholarship, a student should pass both the tests separately. To pass each test, a student should score a minimum of 40% marks.
• There is a relaxation of marks for the reserved category SC/ ST students. They should have a minimum aggregate of 32% marks in each test to become eligible for this scholarship.
• The results for 2020 scheme will likely to be released in February 2021.

How to continue to avail NSP Means cum Merit scholarship at the Secondary and Higher Secondary Level

A student should get enrolled in the approved courses within the stipulated time after the allocation of the scholarship. If a student leaves the school after the allocation of the scholarship, it will be cancelled.

• A beneficiary student should attend the school on a regular basis for full-time.
• He/ She should not be on leave without approval.
• The student should not take any job while studying.
• The scholarship amount cannot be availed after the expiry of the 12 months.
• A student shall not be absent from the school for more than 3 months provided, he/ she provides a medical certificate of illness issued by the head of the medical institution.
• The scholarship will be deemed to be discontinued if a student fails to attend school for one complete academic session.
• A student should obtain at least 60% (SC/ST 55%) aggregate marks in Class 9th and should pass the Class on the first attempt to continue the scholarship in the Class 10th.
• Similarly, a student wishing to continue the scholarship in the Class 12th should obtain a minimum aggregate of 60% aggregate marks (SC/ST 55%) and should get promoted to the Class 12th in the very first attempt of the exam.

National Means Cum Merit scholarship: Implementation Process

• Benefits under the scholarship are disbursed to students in the association of Central Government, State Government, and SBI (State Bank of India).
• One student is eligible for availing benefits for only one scholarship.
• Those students who are selected for the scholarship are instructed to open a Joint Bank Account with their parents in SBI or any of its associate banks. The bank should have an ECS (Electronic Clearing System).
• It is the responsibility of the SBI Bank to ensure that its branches open the bank account without charging any initial deposit from students. The SBI should ensure that each student is issued ATM Cards.
• In case, the SBI bank is not having any bank branch in an area then it should help the student to open his/her bank account in any Public Sector banks.
• Each concerned state should prepare a list of the beneficiary students and hand it over to the SBI bank.

The SBI should ensure that ₹ 1500 is deposited every quarter into every student bank account. It should coordinate with the state education department to provide scholarships to the students.