Students belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) can apply for the employment enhancement programme for 2023-24 till November 30. The programme offers financial aid to OBC students for undergoing coaching for medical / engineering entrance exams and competitive tests such as banking services, civil services, GATE / MAT and NET-UGC / JRF. The address to apply is- Office of the Director of Backward Classes Development Department, Ayyankali Bhavan, Kanaka Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 003.
Website: bcdd.kerala.gov.in
Phone: 0471 – 2727379.
Email: bcddkerala@gmail.com
Things to note
Aid would be given only for training in government-approved institutions. The coaching centres recognized by the government for each exam are mentioned in the notification. Candidates should belong to the OBC / OEC / SEBC community lists to be eligible for the aid. Moreover, their family income should not exceed the following limits:
Medical / engineering entrance, banking services: Rs 2 lakh.
Civil services: Rs 4.5 lakh.
GATE/MAT, NET-UGC/JRF: Rs 2.5 lakh.
Aid will not be given to applicants who are undergoing coaching of less than six-month duration; Sunday / evening / holiday / short-time / online batches. To be eligible, candidates have to attend at least three regular classes a week.
If there are more applicants than scholarships, selection will be carried out based on the marks secured in the qualifying exam and family income. Preference would be given to students of coaching institutes under the government such as Civil Service Academy.
Even though 10-percent of the scholarship amount will be credited only after uploading the results of the exam, students will receive the full payment irrespective of the result. A condition of the scholarship is that students should have their own bank account.
Concessions in eligibility norms would be given to children of widows, orphans, children of people who died owing to serious illnesses and differently-abled students. In order to avail this concession, applicants have to click the ‘Special Consideration’ option.
A candidate will receive a scholarship for only one course at a time. Applications cannot be submitted for the same course more than one time. Students receiving financial aid from other departments cannot apply.
Similarly, students currently undergoing higher secondary courses will not be given aid for medical/engineering entrance coaching. Instead, candidates who passed higher secondary with at least 95-percent marks during the previous three years are eligible. The cut-off is 80-percent for special categories. They should also have completed 17 years of age. Contact details of regional offices at Kollam, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Kozhikode are given in the notification.
Amount of financial aid
The following is a list of the limit of the tuition fees for which aid would be given and the maximum amount to be allotted. The maximum amount is calculated by adding maintenance allowance with tuition fee at the rate of Rs 1,000 x 10 = Rs 10,000.
Medicine / engineering entrance coaching: Rs 20,000 / Rs 30,000
Civil services coaching: Rs 15,000 / Rs 25,000.
Banking services coaching: Rs 10,000 / Rs 20,000
GATE/MAT, UGC-NET /JRF coaching: Rs 15,000 / Rs 25,000.