School scholarship structure revised from 2026

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) has revised the structure of scholarship from the year 2026.

It may be noted that the MSCE conducts Pre-Upper Primary (PUP) of standard 5th and Pre-Secondary Scholarship (PSS) of standard 8th students' examinations to help meritorious and economically weaker students from both rural and urban areas. Students from local self-governing bodies, aided, unaided and self-financed schools are eligible to take the scholarship test.

The State Government has reformed the scholarship examination structure from 2026. Currently, students of the 5th and 8th grades will appear for the PUP and PSS 2025 examination on February 8. However, with the revised structure, tests for Classes 4 and 7 will be conducted in May 2026. From the 2026-27 academic session onwards, the exams will be held annually for these two grades.

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--The annual scholarship amount was also raised. Now, it will give Rs 5,000 for Class 4 students and Rs 7,500 for Class 7 students.

--A total of 16,693 scholarships will be awarded at the primary level and 16,588 candidates at the upper-primary level.

--Candidates from CBSE, ICSE, and other recognised boards are also eligible to appear for the examination

--The maximum age limit for standard IV students is 10 years while 13 years for Class 7, as of June 1 of the examination year.

--The examination fee will be Rs 200 for general group students, while it will be Rs 125 for the reserved category

--Separation notification for May 2026 examination will be released and students can fill the form when the link is made available