The Maharashtra government has approved modifications to the state scholarship examination structure. The pre-upper primary and pre-secondary exams will now be conducted for Classes 4 and 7, reported PTI.
According to an official release, the revised structure will be implemented from the 2025-26 academic year. During this transition, the final Class 5 and 8 scholarship exams will be conducted in February 2026, while the new Class 4 and Class 7 exams will be held in April or May 2026.
Starting from the 2026-27 academic year, the exams will be held regularly for Classes 4 and 7. The government has also revised the scholarship amount to Rs 5,000 per year for Class 4 students and Rs 7,500 per year for Class 7 students.
A total of 16,693 scholarships
will be awarded at the primary level (Class 4) and 16,588 at the upper-primary level (Class 7).
Introduced in 1954-55, the scholarship scheme aims to encourage meritorious and economically disadvantaged students in both rural and urban areas. A change made in 2015 had shifted the exams to Classes 5 and 8, but the number of participating students declined significantly since then. Therefore, the government has decided to revert to the earlier class levels to boost participation and academic performance.
Under the revised rules, students from government, aided, unaided, permanently unaided, and self-financed schools are eligible for the exams. Students from CBSE, ICSE, and other recognised boards can also participate, subject to certain conditions.
The maximum age limit for the Class 4 exam is 10 years (14 years for students with disabilities) and 13 years (17 years for students with disabilities) for the Class 7 exam, as of June 1 of the examination year.
The examination fee is Rs 200 for general category students and Rs 125 for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Nomadic Tribe, Denotified Tribe, and disabled students. Each participating school will also have to pay a Rs 200 annual registration fee to the Examination Council.
The government clarified that the primary scholarship exam (Class 4) will continue to be conducted jointly with the entrance tests for government, tribal, and denotified and nomadic tribe Vidyaniketans, with each scholarship awarded for a period of three years.
