Scholarships: Wind Beneath The Wings, Sky Is The limit

In ancient India education was imparted through a residential schooling system known as the Gurukul. The guru (teacher) and shishya (students) lived in the same premises. The teacher and student relationship was considered sacred and no fee was taken from the students. The students generally attended the Gurukul from the age of 8 years into their early twenties and at the end of their education, 

each student offered "Gurudakshina", as a token of respect which was usually money or any task that the teacher required. The expenses of the Gurukul were otherwise supported by public donations. Gurukul was the preferred form of education in India before the British rule. The British imported their centralized system of education which was an industrial-era education system systematically de-emphasizing the total concept of Vedic education. Developed countries of the world have made education a fundamental right. Though India has declared Education as human right in 2009, it still seems to exist in papers as of now. The cost of quality education in India is very high. Many meritorious students often fail to make their dreams of higher education due to the soaring cost. Today the need for having scholarships has become very important than ever before. 

So let us first understand what are scholarships? A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further his or her education. 

In India the rate of students drop-out is very high and as such the need for scholarships is critical and compelling. In order to deal with the drop-out situation, the government along with various other public and private organizations has come up with suitable aids for students to meet their financial need to pursue education. There is a wide variety of scholarships that are available which are merit based, means based, talent based, sports based etc.

Mean Based Scholarships are disbursed to scholars after considering their financial needs. There are certain scholarships that are specifically meant for meritorious students coming from economically backward classes. The factor that determines whether one is eligible for such scholarship depends on the annual family income of the family.

Merit –cum-means based Scholarships is a collective term for Scholarships that have been designed to meet the requirements taking into consideration both the academic and the financial need of the student. 

Talent based Scholarships are custom Scholarships for funding education in a talent based field. If one aims to become an artist, a musician or a dancer or any kind of performing arts the talent based Scholarships help to give those students the wings to fly and fulfill their career ambitions.

Sports based Scholarships are awarded on the basis of one’s contribution towards sports. Irrespective of whichever sport one chooses one can work towards winning one of the many scholarships that are offered by renowned sport institutions as well as other private organizations. 

Scholarships for Women are aimed to encourage and empower women in field of education. This is specially aimed to ensure that girls do not drop out of formal education. These Scholarships are granted both on the academic merits as well as financial need of the women scholars. 

For education overseas, the Government of India renders scholarship opportunities for students who aim to pursue their studies abroad. Many International Universities also offer Scholarship opportunities for Indian students to encourage cross-cultural education worldwide.

Now that we have a fairly good idea about the different Scholarships that are up there for grabs let us look at some of the Scholarships that are specially designed to meet the requirements of students of class 12. 

1.Central Sector Scholarship Scheme (CSSS) is one such scholarship that is offered by the Central Board of Secondary Education based on merit for students all over India. The selection is done on the CBSE 12th board percentage for students pursuing further education in any particular field.

2.College Admission Scholarship Admission (CASA) is a popular scholarship for 12th pass students. The CASA application process starts in the month of June and also has no application fee. The CASA scholarship is a great help towards achieving quality higher education and can get a student 100% tuition waiver. Students who have completed their 12th examination from any CBSE, ICSE or any other recognized state board may apply.

3.Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Ignite Awards is organized by the National Innovation Foundation. This scholarship provides the young minds a platform to showcase their thoughts and innovations. Students up to class 12 are eligible for participation. All a student needs to do is put down their thoughts and ideas in a simple text form and email it to the official website. The final date of registration is usually by the end of August every year.

4.National Scholarship Test is one most popular scholarship that is on offer and the test for the same is conducted the Sikhsha Education Trust. The National Scholarship Test provides students with national as well as State –level Scholarships. Students can apply for this scholarship test latest by 31st May every year.

5.PM Narendra Modi Scholarship for 12th Pass Students. Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi launched a scholarship for 12th pass students who are seeking admission in a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Candidates applying for this Scholarship should have a minimum of 75% marks in the 12th final and should be between the ages of 18-25 years. Scholars whose family income is below 6lakhs per annum are eligible for this scholarship.

6.Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana run by the Indian Institute of Science offers fellowships for students at the National level. SA, SB and SX are the three streams under which Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana is conducted.SA, SB and SX are the 3 streams under which KVPY is conducted. 

Stream SA: The students studying in class 11 (Science Subjects) have to choose Stream SA while appearing for KVPY Exam.

Stream SX: The students studying in class 12 (Science Subjects) have to choose Stream SX while appearing for KVPY Exam.

Stream SB: Students studying in first year of any undergraduate program in Basic Sciences, B.Sc. /B.S. /B.Stat. /B.Math. /Int. M.Sc. /Int. M.S. in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology have to choose Stream SB while appearing for KVPY Exam.

Apart from the ones that we have discussed here there are a many more Scholarships that are on offer. If one wants the sky is the limit and there are ways to put the wind beneath your wings so that you can fly high up in the sky. Go through the different websites; keep yourself updated so that you do not miss on the dates. 

By: Madhuchanda Saxena