Many families in India find it hard to fund the school education of their children. So they are always looking for scholarships that can help them get their children to some of the best schools in the country without them having to put too much financial burden on themselves. However, finding scholarships that are right for them in terms of eligibility and benefits is not as difficult a task as it appears.
Not every student qualifies for all the different types of scholarships. Without financial aid to cover school expenses, many students don’t have the means to attend the school of their choice. This is where a local merit scholarship can be of great help to these students.
In simplest terms, a local merit scholarship is a type of financial aid that is offered to deserving Indian students who are willing to get into reputable schools but can’t afford to pay the cost of education at those schools. Local merit scholarships can be both public and private.
Public scholarships have strict eligibility criteria and are mostly meant to fund the undergraduate education of students. On the other hand, private scholarships are offered by private schools to help students with an unblemished performance record but without the financial means to get a quality education.
Local merit scholarships can have different eligibility criteria and benefits in different locations throughout the country. However, one thing that is consistent with these scholarships is that they are offered to fund school education of high-achieving students. It is offered to students belonging to moderate-income families.
A great example of a local merit scholarship is the Mahatma Gandhi Universal Values Merit-Cum-Means Scholarship offered by Global Indian International School (GIIS), Bangalore. This scholarship is meant to help both existing and new students of the two GIIS campuses in Bangalore – Whitefield campus and Bannerghatta campus. This scholarship is open to students from Nursery to 12th Grade in Whitefield campus and Nursery to 7th Grade in the Bannerghatta campus.
This local merit scholarship by GIIS has four categories based on the annual income of families.
- The first category aims to benefit students from families with an annual income of less than INR 8,00,000. These students are offered financial aid that accounts for 20% of their tuition fees.
- Students in the second category are offered a scholarship of 15%. These students have an annual family income of INR 8,00,000 to 10,00,000.
- Students falling in the next category have a yearly family income of between 10,00,000 and 12,00,000. They receive financial aid of 12% on the tuition fees.
- Students in the last category are awarded scholarships of 10% on the tuition fees and are those with an annual family income of INR 12,00,000 to 25,00,000.
As you can see, this scholarship for school students at GIIS Bangalore rewards students based on their academic performance and their family’s financial standing. This is ideal for students who deserve to get into good schools but can do with a little financial assistance.