Universities, educational institutions, colleges and polytechnics have been directed not to collect educational fees from Scheduled Tribe (ST) students at the time of admission if the charges are covered under the Government of India Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme, officials said on Friday.
Under the scheme, educational benefits for eligible ST students are provided through the MahaDBT system and credited to their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. The benefits cover prescribed charges, including admission fees for aided and unaided courses, laboratory and library fees, gymkhana charges, extracurricular and activity-related fees, monthly college fees, computer training and registration fees. The government also reimburses various university-related charges, including the university development, sports, Ashwamedh, medical assistance, student assistance, student insurance and youth festival funds, besides student identity card charges. He also directed institutions to mention only those fees approved by the competent authority, administrative department or respective university on the receipts.
For the 2026-27 academic year, colleges have been instructed to facilitate online applications by eligible ST students through the MahaDBT 2.0 portal. Iwanate warned that principals would be held responsible if any eligible student is deprived of the scholarship due to the institution’s failure to facilitate the application process.
