A Presentation giving details of the Govt. Merit Scholarship Examination for students of std.5th & 8th studying in the recognized schools of Maharashtra State - India

1. GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIP
EXAMINATION - FOR SCHOOL
STUDENTS OF MAHARASHTRA
Prepared by: Najma Kazi
najmakazi@gmail.com

2. INTRODUCTION
 Government of Maharashtra conducts merit-based Scholarship Examination every
year. For class 5 (PRE-UPPER PRIMARY SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATION - PUP) &
Class 8 (PRE- SECONDARY SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATION - PSS) students.
 The assessment & evaluation process is fully computerized.
 Every year lakhs of students from all over the state appear for the tests.
 Out of which around sixteen thousand each from std. 5th & 8th get selected for
receiving the Scholarship.
 For Scholarship Exam 2021, across the Maharashtra state, 47,612 schools have
registered while a total of 6,32,478 students have applied, 3,88,335 for class V and
2,44,143 for class VIII."

3. INTRODUCTION
 MSCE (Maharashtra State Council of Examination) is the state-level organization
responsible for the conduct of scholarship examinations in Maharashtra.
 These scholarship exams are undertaken to assist economically weaker meritorious
students financially.
 MSCE conducts the exam on the 2nd or 3rd Sunday of February every year.
 The scholarships are awarded to the meritorious candidates based on their Exam
scores and Merit.

4. OBJECTIVES
 To inculcate the habit of healthy competitive spirit among the students.
 To empower students for in-depth subject knowledge.
 To motivate the bright students to plan their future career.
 To provide financial support to the meritorious students.
 To enhance the cognitive skills of the students.
 To ensure that every deserving student gets a platform to test his/her academic skills.
 To improve the performance of students in various competitive exams.
 To provide an opportunity to the smart & dedicated teachers in identifying & supporting
the gifted students.

5. ADVANTAGES
 Recognition from Government gives confidence to pursue future goals.
 Gaining extra in-depth knowledge helps in better performance in regular exams.
 Time Management, shortcuts & tricks learnt are useful for regular exam papers.
 Merit Scholarship makes the resume of the student standout.
 It will help in future admissions, interviews & jobs.
 Grooms the personality through training & practice.
 Provides early experience & practice for appearing in Competitive Examinations.
 Helps in brand & Image building of the School.
 Rewards & Recognition to meritorious students inspires & motivates the junior
students.

6. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT
In Urban & Rural Division, Successful, Eligible Selected candidates of std.5th receive
Rs.100 per month for a period of three years & of std.8th receive Rs. 150 per month for
two years.
(Subject to the condition that the awardees shall continue their studies in school with
regular attendance, good conduct & satisfactory academic progress.)

7. EXAM PATTERN
 Mode of Exam: Offline written
 Language of Exam: (8) Marathi/ English/ Hindi/ Gujarati/ Telugu/ Kannada/ Urdu/ Sindhi
 For Semi English: In Maths & Intelligence test, two question papers will be provided in English
as well as in their medium of instruction.
 Types of questions: Objective & multiple-choice questions.
 Number of papers: TWO
 Each question paper will have four different sets. A, B, C, D
 Number of questions per paper: 75
 Duration of Exam: 90 minutes for each paper
 Marks per question: 2
 Negative marking: Nil

8. MARKING SCHEME
Difficulty level of Questions: (for std. 5th & 8th)
Easy questions – 30%
Moderately difficult questions - 40%
Difficult questions – 30%
Important for std. 8th only: 20% questions In the std.8 papers will have two options out of 4 which will be correct answers. It will be mandatory for the
students to mark both correct options in such cases.
SUBJECT NUMBER OF QUESTIONS MARKS
PAPER – I (1.5 Hrs.)
First Language 25 50
Mathematics 50 100
Total 75 150
PAPER – II (1.5 Hrs.)
Third language 25 50
Intelligence Test 50 100
Total 75 150

9. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
 Student should be a resident of Maharashtra state & the Parent should be residing in Maharashtra for not less than
15 years.
 Student should be studying in std.5th or std. 8th of a Govt. Recognised Govt./Aided/Un-aided/Permanently Un-aided/
Self-Financed School of Maharashtra.
 Age Criteria: Student’s age as on 1st June of the appearing academic year should not be more than as specified in
the table below.
CLASS For General Category For Reserved & PH
Category
Std.5 11 Years 15 Years
Std.8 14 Years 18 Years

10. SCHOLARSHIP FOR OTHER BOARDS
 For C.B.S.E & I.C.S.E. Board Schools:
(Govt. Order FED-4014/643/Pr.no.4/ S.D-5, Dated 15/11/2016)
 Students of C.B.S.E & I.C.S.E Boards can appear for the Scholarship Exam.
 The above age criteria & other rules will be applicable to them.
 An independent merit list will be prepared for the students of these Boards.
 The top 50 students from the above merit list will be awarded the Certificate & the Mark list.
 No Cash amount will be given to these students.
 All the remaining students will receive their mark list only.

11. PASSING CRITERIA
 Students appearing for Scholarship Exams will not be declared Fail or Pass but Eligible or Ineligible.
 To be eligible for the Scholarship, scoring minimum 40 % marks in each paper is a must.
 Students scoring less than 40 % marks in one or both papers will be ineligible for the Scholarship.
 All students with cut off marks are not eligible for Scholarship as the no. of scholarships are limited.
 Scholarships are awarded to those who fulfil the criteria decided by the examining body.
 In case of a tie, higher percentage of marks in the second paper or seniority of age will be the deciding
factor.
 Students will be declared eligible as per the district wise approved no. of Scholarships.

12. SYLLABUS FOR THE EXAM
(Syllabus prepared by MSCERT for std.1 to 5 for PUP & for std.1 to 8 for PSS)

13. SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES AT SCHOOL
 Creating awareness: Engaging Stakeholders for awareness & support. (Management,
Parents, Teachers, Students)
 Selection of Teachers: Based on their Qualification, Experience, Expertise, Aptitude,
Interest, Motivation & Performance in solving scholarship papers.
 Training of selected Teachers: Conducting Subject-wise workshops by External
Experts.
 Selection of Students: Based on past Academic Performance, Aptitude, Interests, and
Performance in trial tests etc.
 Coaching Time: Before School, Weekends & Holidays.
 Coaching Methods: Solving Papers, Shortcuts, Practice, Mental sums, Time
Management, Regular Testing, Assessment & Analysis of the Performance.
 Incentives for Teachers: Freehand, Extra Payment, Awards & Recognition.

14. SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES AT SCHOOL
 Appointing a Co-Ordinator: For Supervising, Communicating, Maintaining records of
extra classes, Attendance, Performance in Practice Tests, Feedback, Remuneration
etc.
 Financials: Nominal Fees to be charged annually for payments to the Experts, Co-
Ordinator, Teachers & Support Staff. Budget to be prepared.
 Duration: Students to be selected in class IV & VII or earlier. Planning & preparing
budget to be done for 18-20 months.
 Study Materials: Question Banks, Scholarship books by Government & Private
Publishers, A booklet of Shortcut methods to be prepared & shared with the students.
(Previous year question papers with answer keys are available on the website of
MSCE – Pune with free downloading facility.)
 Mode of Coaching: Offline classes & Online meeting & sharing of materials &
performance reports.

15. REGULATORT AUTHORITY
MAHARASHTRA STATE COUNCIL OF EXAMINATION – PUNE
17, Dr. Ambedkar Marg, PUNE – 411001
Contact: 020 – 26123066/67
Website: (i) www.mscepune.in
(ii) https:// www.mscepuppss.in

16. THANK YOU