To promote literacy among students and reduce the drop-out rate at secondary and higher levels, the Government of India has introduced various scholarships for deserving students.

The deserving meritorious students who need financial support to continue their school education can avail a school education scholarship that can help them keep their educational prospects and ambitions alive and thriving.

Here are the top 3 excellent scholarship programs for students of class 9 that can help them continue their educational journey.

1) Scholarship for Students with Disabilities

To ensure the empowerment of students with disabilities, the Government of India has designed a Pre-Matric Scholarship to provide financial support to students with disabilities. It is a scholarship for class 9 and class 10 students who are physically challenged and need financial aid.

The scholarship aims to help the physically challenged students earn their livelihood and prepare themselves to live a dignified life in society. To avail this scholarship, the candidate must be a full-time student studying in class 9 or 10 in a government-funded or any other recognized school. Students having more than 40% disability and belonging to a family having an annual income not more than INR 2.50 Lac are provided with the scholarship.

To avail the scholarship, the candidate must have certain required documents that include a certificate of academic mark sheet of the previous class, income details of the family, bank account details, and a fee receipt of the current course year.

2) National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme

The Government of India under the Department of School Education and Literacy offers this scholarship to students studying in class 9 and having secured a minimum of 55% marks or aggregate in the class 8 examination. The scholarship aims at providing support and financial assistance to deserving meritorious students who belong to the economically weaker sections of the society.

It encourages students to continue their studies at the secondary level of schooling and helps in reducing the drop-out rate among students. To avail this scholarship, the candidate must be a student of class 9 having an annual family income of less than INR 1.50 Lac. To offer the scholarship to the deserving students, each state/UT conducts the selection test based on which students are shortlisted to receive the scholarship.

3) Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship

Formerly known as Maulana Azad Scholarship, the Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship is a national-level scholarship, which aims to provide financial support to meritorious girl students belonging to minority communities. It is implemented by Maulana Azad Education Foundation and funded by the Government of India. Every year, various students receive the benefits of this scholarship and get support to help them finish their schooling without encountering any financial hurdle.

The scholarship is offered to girl students from minority communities, which include Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian, and Jain religions. To avail this scholarship, the applicants must have scored a minimum of 50% marks or aggregate in the previous class, and their annual family income must not exceed INR 2 Lac.

These scholarships provide financial support to a multitude of students and give a boost to their educational journey.