The Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education (MoE), organized a one-day interactive workshop on the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) on 20.03.2026 at Kohima, Nagaland.

The workshop was attended by State and District Nodal Officers from Nagaland and neighbouring states. Ms. A. Srija, Economic Advisor, DoSEL chaired the Workshop, alongwith Secretary and Commissioner, School Education, Ms Kevileno Angami.

In her welcome address, the Economic Advisor, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, said that the workshop aimed to strengthen implementation of NMMSS in the State. She noted that the scheme, launched in 2008, supports students at risk of dropping out after Class VIII due to economic constraints.

The scheme is onboarded on the National Scholarship Portal(NSP) and various technology upgradation have been brought about in the NSP to weed out fake beneficiaries and bring in transparency. 

In this regard, DoSEL conducts regular online and offline sensitization workshops with States/UTs to orient them on the process of registration, application, authentication and verification of applications on the NSP portal.  It was further pointed out that despite an allocation of 180 merit scholarships in Nagaland under NMMSS, student registration on the portal remains low, and she urged the district nodal officers to intensify efforts to handhold eligible students through the NSP portal & ensure full utilization of the benefit of the scheme.  Orientation of students on the pattern of selection exam viz; MAT (Mental Ability Test) and Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) was also mentioned to the District Nodal Officers.

Ms. Kevileno Angami, Commissioner & Secretary, School Education, in Nagaland highlighted that NMMSS plays an important role in addressing educational challenges in the North-East through collaboration and shared learning. She noted that initiatives such as the Right to Education, National Education Policy, Samagra Shiksha and the earlier version of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan have strengthened access to education and helped reduce dropout rates.

However, she emphasized that financial constraints and other challenges continue to affect some regions, and scholarships like NMMSS are critical in supporting students. She urged officers to actively spread awareness, assist students in applying, and support their exam preparation.

The workshop was attended by State/District Nodal Officers of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, SCERT and Nagaland State Education Department and officials from NIC-NSP, NPCI.

The workshop included presentations on NMMSS implementation through the National Scholarship Portal, sensitization videos, presentations by NIC-NSP, NPCI and concluded with an interactive feedback session with the participating officers.

*****

AK

(Release ID: 2244244) Visitor Counter : 140