The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has notified its affiliated schools regarding the “Scheme for Residential Education for SC Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA)”. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), Government of India is running the “Scheme for Residential Education for SC Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA)”. This scheme aims at providing residential education opportunities for meritorious SC students (boys and girls). The details of the scheme are available on the MoSJE website https://socialjustice.gov.in/scheme-cat
The SHRESHTA scheme is available for private residential schools affiliated with the CBSE, up to Class XII. The schools should be residential schools as per OASIS data. As per the CBSE guidelines, these Residential Private Schools must be in operation for 5 years or more and must be having a pass percentage of 75% or more in Class X and XII, in the last 3 years. The schools are required to have adequate infrastructure for admitting at least 10 SC students on class IX and XI (together).
The SHRESHTA scheme allows entry for students in Class IX and XI till the completion of education up to Class 12. Every year, 300 students are selected under the SHRESTA scheme through the National Entrance Test for SHRESHTA (NETS), conducted by the National testing Agency (NTA). Allotment of seats is done by a web counselling process, as per merit and choices made by the students.
To know the details of the scheme, eligibility of the schools and ascertain the school’s suitability, schools can refer to the scheme document at https://socialjustice.gov.in/public/ckeditor/upload/24291692705460.pdf. The scheme document will help understand details such as maximum admissible scholarship, number of seats and the obligations on the part of selected schools.
Selection of the CBSE affiliated Residential Private Schools for the SHRESHTA scheme is done by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE). Schools selected for the scheme by the DoSJE, must add this information on their website, showing year-wise and grade-wise numbers admitted in the school, under the scheme. CBSE shares the list of affiliated residential private schools with the DoSJE, based on the OASIS data.
While giving their consent for the scheme to the DoSJE, schools must ensure that they meet the SHRESHTA scheme’s criteria. Interested schools may convey their consent directly to the DoSJE in response to the notification issued by the DoSJE, at its official website.
Once the schools consent for the scheme, the selected schools must not refuse the allotted students and must adhere to the guidelines of the scheme. As the scheme is owned and funded by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE), Government of India, the schools will be required to correspond directly with the DoSJE regarding matters such as selection of the school, consent, seat allocation, funds etc.
