New Delhi witnessed a significant step forward in promoting the advancement of education and empowering Scheduled Castes (SCs) with the introduction of the ‘Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas’ (SHRESHTA) by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
The official release from the ministry highlighted the scheme’s primary objective of extending the reach of government development initiatives and bridging service gaps within the education sector, particularly in regions predominantly inhabited by SC communities.
According to the released statement, ‘SHRESHTA envisions creating an enabling environment for the holistic development and socio-economic upliftment of SC students, ensuring a promising future for them.’ The scheme is strategically designed to foster collaboration between grant-in-aid institutions managed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and residential high schools dedicated to providing quality education.
The implementation of the SHRESHTA scheme is structured into two distinctive modes. The first mode entails the selection of outstanding SC students through the National Entrance Test for SHRESHTA (NETS), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), for admission to renowned CBSE/State Board-affiliated private residential schools. These selected students will be granted admission from the 9th to the 12th standard. The schools selected for this program have demonstrated exemplary performance, with a pass rate of over 75 percent for classes 10 and 12 over the last three years, as decided by a selection committee.
The second mode focuses on the operation of schools and hostels by voluntary organizations (VOs) and NGOs, catering to education up to the 12th standard.
Under the scheme, approximately 3,000 SC students, with parents having an annual income within the 2.5 lakh limit, will be chosen annually through a national-level test. The scheme covers all associated fees for each student, including tuition fees, hostel fees, and a bridge course aimed at addressing individual academic requirements. Regular monitoring of the students’ progress will be undertaken by the ministry to ensure the effective implementation of the scheme. The admissible fees for each class have been detailed in the press release as follows: 9th – ₹ 1,00,000, 10th – ₹ 1,10,000, 11th – ₹ 1,25,000, and 12th – ₹ 1,35,000.
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