Free Coaching Opportunities for SC and OBC Students in India

The Centre expands higher education support for SC and OBC students through SHREYAS, covering free coaching, premier-institution education, overseas study and research fellowships.

The Central Government is making efforts to enhance the education facilities of the students falling under the category of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backwards Classes (OBC) by implementing the Scholarships for Higher Education for Young Achievers Scheme (SHREYAS). This scheme includes various initiatives which help in minimising the cost constraints for higher education, competitive exams, foreign studies, and research.

SHREYAS has been designed to give support through a continuum of programs that are made up of four main components as per the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. These include coaching for competitive exams on a free basis, Top Class Education for SC students, the National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) and the National Fellowship for SC Students (NFSC).

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The Free Coaching Scheme is a monetary aid provided by the government for quality coaching services to poor candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC who prepare themselves for competitive exams. This aid is provided for all exams held for admission to jobs in the government/industry sectors as well as in reputable institutions.

The Top Class Education component assists deserving SC students who wish to study in high-quality institutes of learning in India. Through financial support from the program, the students can take care of the costs involved in pursuing education or professional programs. According to the government, the aim of the program is to eliminate any monetary barriers.

The National Overseas Scholarship Scheme offers eligible students studying in SC schools the chance to receive education in overseas educational institutions. This scheme aims to make international education accessible to students coming from deprived backgrounds.

On the other hand, the National Fellowship for SC Students offers funds for SC scholars seeking higher education and research programs. The scholarship will assist in participating in research work, and it might aid in the field of teaching and learning.

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The expenditure on the four components of the SHREYAS scheme is given by the government to be ₹3,509.39 crore during 2014-15 to 2025-26, which has benefitted more than 1.18 lakh students from SC and OBC communities.

Apart from this, the Government says that the ‘Free Coaching Scheme’ has been rolled out through ‘Dr Ambedkar Centres of Excellence’ of 19 empanelled Central Universities, whereby 100 seats have been allocated for coaching in each university. The financial benefit under the scheme reaches the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer using Aadhaar.