The government has extended the deadline for meritorious students on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) for the year 2024-25 until the 31st of this month. Under the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS), scholarships are awarded to meritorious students from economically weaker sections to prevent their dropout after the elementary level, which is class eight. The scheme encourages students to complete their school education up to class twelve.

The National Scholarship Portal has been open for submission of applications by students since June 30 of this year. The scheme provides one lakh fresh scholarships every year for Class 9 students who pass the qualifying exam conducted by the state and Union Territory governments. The scheme is applicable only to students studying in state government, government-aided, and local body schools. The scholarship amount is 12 thousand rupees per annum per student.