Know about the Important Scholarships at School Level for 2018 - 2019

Education for all is one of the most important goals of any democratic government. The government of India is also wedded to this very socialistic goal. But unfortunately, there is a huge segment of students which is not able to access the quality education. 

The scholarship is one of the best ways to provide access to education for the underprivileged sections of the students. They are given financial assistance, awards, tuition-fee waiver, interest-free loan grants etc to obtain a quality education and prosper in their career.

Here is a list of some popular scholarships which are given by the government of India to school students. 

1. Science Olympiad Foundation
2. INSPIRE Scholarship by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India
3. NTSE by NCERT

Science Olympiad Foundation

About the SOF - This is a registered foundation that aims at promoting competitive spirit among school children in science, mathematics, English, and technology. It is supported by the Ministry of corporate affairs. It organises 6 different exams on the national level, namely

1. NSO (National Science Olympiad)
2. NCO (National Cyber Olympiad)
3. IMO (International Mathematics Olympiad)
4. IEO (International English Olympiad)
5. International Company Secretaries Olympiad
6. International General Knowledge Olympiad

NSO (National Science Olympiad)

• About the NSO – The schools and students can get registered to participate in the NSO by paying a nominal examination fee. The SOF sends question paper along with detailed guidelines to conduct the exam.
• Meant for – There are two levels in the NSO exam. The level 1 of the exam is taken by the students of Class 1 to Class 4. The level 2 is meant for students of Class 3 rd to Class 12th.
• Entrance exam schedule – 9th November and 23rd November 

NCO (National Cyber Olympiad)

• About the NCO - The students of Class 1 to 12 can apply for this exam. Those schools which are registered with the SOF are provided with the prospectus and application form. Interested students can contact their school administration to appear in this exam. Students cannot apply individually for this exam.
• Meant for – Students from Class 1 to 12 can apply for it.
• Entrance Exam Schedule – 23rd and 30th January 2018.

IMO (International Mathematics Olympiad)

• About the IMO - The registered schools with the SOF can apply for the IMO. They can obtain prospectus and application form from the SOF by paying a nominal fee. Interested students can apply for it through their school authorities. A minimum 10 students should apply for the exam. The co-ordinating teacher will send the applications to the SOF. The question paper and detailed guidelines will be sent to the schools.

• Meant for – There are two levels of this exam. The level 1 is conducted at the school level for students from Class 1 to Class 3 and another exam for students for Class 4th to Class 12th.
• Entrance Exam Schedule – 5th December and 14th December.

IEO (International English Olympiad)

• About the IEO - The SOF send the prospectus to all registered schools. Interested students can apply through their school.
• Meant for – There are 2 levels of this exam. The students of Class 1 to Class 12 can participate in this exam. The level 1 exam can be held on three dates. The dates of the exam cannot be changed under any circumstances.
• Entrance Exam Schedule – 6th October, 12th October, and 24th October.

International Company Secretaries Olympiad –

• About the ICSO - This exam is conducted by the SOF in collaboration with the Company Secretary of India.
• Meant for – It is meant for students of Class 11th and Class 12th. The SOF sends prospectus containing application form to all registered schools. Interested students can apply for the exam through their school teachers. The ICSO is a single level exam. The schools can select any date for conducting the ICSO exam.
• Entrance Exam Schedule- 23rd January and 30th January 2018.

International General Knowledge Olympiad

• About the IGKO - The SOF sends prospectus along with application form to all registered schools. Interested students can apply for the exam through their school co-ordinating authorities by paying a nominal fee.
• Meant for – The students from Class 1 to Class 10th are eligible to participate in the exam.
• Entrance Exam schedule – 12th September, 22nd September, and 10th October 2018.

To know more, click on the following link –

http://www.sofworld.org/

Department of Science and Technology, Government of India

• About the Scholarship - The INSPIRE (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research) scholarship is given by the Department of Science and Technology award to students. It aims at encouraging students to pursue higher studies in Science and Technology. This programme has three components, namely –
• SEATS - Scheme for Early Attraction of Talents – This scheme targets student between the age group of 10 -15 years. Under this scheme, 1 million students are given ₹ 5000 to get the first-hand experience of participating in the innovation programme.
• SHE – Scholarship for Higher Education – This scheme targets students between 17 -22 years. They are provided 0.80 lakhs annually to pursue Bachelors and Masters in the basic science.
• AORC – Associated Opportunity for Research Careers – Under this scheme, students between 22- 27 years are targeted. They are encouraged to undertake research courses in the basic and applied sciences.

• Eligibility for the INSPIRE scholarship – Those students who stand among the top 1% in the state board exams can apply for this scholarship programme. Also, those students who secure rank up to 10,000 in the national level competitive exams like NEET, IIT-JEE (Mains) and IIT –JEE (Advanced) can apply for this scholarship.

To know more about the scholarship, click on this provided link –

http://www.inspire-dst.gov.in/index.html

NCERT Scholarship

• About the NTSE (National Talent Search Examination) – The NTSE examination is conducted by the NCERT to grant scholarship.
• Meant for - This examination can be taken by the students of Class 10th level.
• Entrance Exam Procedure and Schedule – The students are required to appear in the written exam first. It comprises of Science Aptitude Test and an essay test. Those students who qualify the written exam are required to submit a project report on the given topic. Finally, they appear in the interview.
• Entrance Exam Schedule – 13th May 2018.

To know more about the scholarship, click on this provided link – http://www.ncert.nic.in/programmes/talent_exam/index_talent.html