Bhubaneswar: Following the merger of Class VIII in elementary education, the state government has modified its guidelines for National Rural Talent Scholarship (NRTS).
The School and Mass Education Department Thursday issued a circular to this effect. As per the revised guidelines, students having passed Class VIII with 60 per cent marks in the final examination and continuing in Class IX is eligible to appear for the NRTS examination.
However, students studying in schools that are not following the syllabus of Board of Secondary Education (BSE) Orissa are not eligible for the scholarship.
In case of SC & ST students, the marks secured in final examination has been relaxed by 10 per cent. That is, a student having passed Class VIII with 50 per cent marks in the final examination can apply for the scholarship.
Earlier, the minimum qualification to appear in the test was Class VII with 60 per cent (for general category) marks in annual examination. Maximum five students from each school can apply for the test, the circular said.
Students will be selected for the scholarship through a written test to be conducted by BSE in July of every year. The questions will be set from the Class VIII syllabus and from subjects like MIL, mathematics, general science and social science. It will be a composite paper of 100 marks consisting of 4 sections with 25 marks each.
The selected students will get Rs 250 per month for 24 months till he/she continues his/ her studies in the secondary level with satisfactory performance. Earlier, the students were getting the scholarship amount for 36 months (Class VIII, IX and X).
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