The Maharashtra government on Friday restored the scholarships for students Std IV and Std VII starting from the 2025-26 academic year.
The decision brings back support for young students through revised scholarship examinations, officials said.
The Pre-Upper Primary Scholarship Examination will now be held for Std IV students instead of Std V, while the Pre-Secondary Scholarship Examination will shift from Std VIII to Std VII. The exams will be conducted regularly from the 2026-27 academic year onwards.
The names of the exams have been changed. The Pre-Upper Primary Scholarship Exam will now be called the Primary Scholarship Examination (Std. 4th Level) and the Pre-Secondary Scholarship Exam will be known as the Upper Primary Scholarship Examination (Std. 7th Level).
Officials said the move is aimed at identifying talented students early and supporting them through scholarships, encouraging continued education and academic growth.
In 2016, the scholarships originally meant for Std IV and Std VII were moved to Std V and Std VIII students . However, the decision faced strong opposition, and the ministry is now working to reinstate the original structure.
This year, the scholarship exams were conducted for students in Std IV, V, VII and VIII, to ensure that no student missed out on the opportunity.
Mid-day had earlier reported that Maharashtra government was in the final stages of shifting school scholarships back to Std IV and Std VII, instead of Std V and Std VIII, starting from the upcoming academic year. Alongside this change, the Ministry of School Education plans to increase the number of scholarships beyond the current 16,000. The ministry is working in coordination with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Ministry of Social Justice, and the Ministry of Other Backward Classes.
On Friday, the government approved the change in the level of the Pre-Upper Primary Scholarship Examination and Pre-Secondary Scholarship Examination from Class V to Class IV and from Class VIII to Class VII.
Officials said, in the academic session 2025-26, the scholarship examination for Class V and Class VIII will be organised (finally) usually on the second or third Sunday of February 2026, while the scholarship examination for Class IV and Class VII will be organised on any Sunday in April or May 2026. From 2026–27 onwards, the scholarship examination will be organised regularly for Class IV and Class VII.
“The scholarship amount has been approved for Class IV at the rate of five thousand rupees per year and for Class VII at the rate of seven thousand five hundred rupees per year. A total of 16,693 scholarship sets each for Class IV and Class V, and 16,588 scholarship sets each for Class VII and Class VIII will continue to be approved. Similarly, the Pre-Higher Secondary Scholarship Examination and Pre-Secondary Scholarship Examination will henceforth be named as the Primary Scholarship Examination (i.e. Class IV level) and Upper Primary Scholarship Examination (i.e. Class VII level),” the officials said.
This scholarship examination has been organised regularly for students of Class V and Class VIII since 2016-17. However, after the change in the level of the scholarship examination, it has been observed that there has been a significant decrease in the total number of students admitted.
In order to increase the participation of students in local self-government bodies and improve the quality of students and teachers, the government was considering changing the level of the scholarship examination from Class V to Class IV and from Class VIII to Class VII students. Accordingly, a government decision on comprehensive matters has been published by amending the terms and conditions, officials said.
For Class IV, a scholarship amount of Rs 500 per month has been approved, which is Rs 5,000 per year. For Class VII, a scholarship amount of Rs 750 per month, which is Rs 7,500 per year, has been approved. The government decision in this regard has clarified that the duration of both scholarships will be three years each, they said.
