In a one-of-its-kind initiative by the Tribal Affairs Department of Jammu and Kashmir, tribal students of the state will get free coaching for NEET & JEE exam. In addition, the department will also provide scholarships to successful students in either of the entrance exams.
According to Shahid Iqbal, Tribal Affairs Department Secretary, a total of 100 students are selected for NEET coaching in a government-empanelled coaching centre. The selected students are divided into two different sub-schemes - Host-50 and Top-50.
The Host-50 will cater to the top hostellers, while the Top-50 will be focused on other tribal meritorious students. Both these schemes will be implemented under the supervision of the Tribal Research Institute.
The department will pay the coaching fee for JEE and NEET exam at select institutions after verifying the attendance and performance. Selected students for the courses like MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BVSc and AH, BE, and BTech, along with other professional courses, will be receiving an annual scholarship of up to Rs 75,000.
The new initiative by the Tribal Affairs Department is in addition to the already running Technology-Enabled Education Scheme, enhancement of diet charges and tuition rates in hostels.
Abdul Khabir, Deputy Director (Administration), Tribal Research Institute, said, “Under the ‘Top-50’ sub-scheme applications have been invited from meritorious tribal students and 50 students with the highest marks, above 80 per cent in the Class 12 board exam will be selected for coaching.”
Further explaining the ‘Host–50’ sub-scheme, Mr. Khabir tell that the initial round of selecting the candidates will involve a screening test. The department has also reserved 50 and 25 per cent quota for girl students under Host-50 and Top-50 sub-schemes, respectively. Also, there is no upper-income bar to be eligible for the coaching scheme.
