What if a scholarship form could change a life? Turning hidden chances into a education movement

• Navjeevan Express–Buddy4Study Scholarship Alert seeks to ensure financial hardship never quietly ends a promising educational journey
• From Class 9 to postgraduate studies, opportunities span school education, engineering, STEM, medicine, management and more
• Parents, teachers, schools and colleges urged to become ‘scholarship ambassadors’ for deserving students
• Corporate CSR, foundations and philanthropic initiatives are opening new pathways for economically disadvantaged learners
• One timely alert can keep a student in college, on the road to an IIT—or on the path to becoming a doctor, researcher or entrepreneur

NE EDUCATION BUREAU

AHMEDABAD, SEPT 9

A scholarship is not merely money. Sometimes, it is the thin line between a student who continues and one who quietly drops out. It can keep a daughter in college when family finances falter, put a first-generation learner on the road to an IIT, enable an aspiring engineer to complete a degree, or give a young woman from a disadvantaged background the opportunity to enter STEM.

And there is an uncomfortable truth behind many educational dropouts: the scholarship that could have changed a student’s future may already exist—but the student may never hear about it before the deadline.

That is the gap Navjeevan Express, in association with Buddy4Study, seeks to bridge through its Scholarship Alert series—bringing verified scholarship opportunities from corporate CSR programmes, educational institutions, philanthropic organisations and charitable trusts into the public domain and, importantly, encouraging those who surround students to become active opportunity-spotters.

The larger message is simple: don’t wait for a deserving student to discover a scholarship. Help the scholarship discover the student.

From scholarship seekers to scholarship ambassadors

The initiative is designed not merely for students searching for financial assistance but for the entire educational ecosystem.

Parents, teachers, school principals, college faculty, university administrators, career counsellors and community organisations can become scholarship ambassadors by identifying deserving students, sharing opportunities and helping them understand eligibility and application requirements.

A teacher who forwards an alert to one student, a parent who helps complete an application, or a college counsellor who spots a suitable opportunity can potentially alter the trajectory of a young person’s life.

The stakeholder challenge, therefore, is bigger than dissemination: every institution can create its own scholarship-alert network.

Engineering dreams need not stop at the fee counter

For students aspiring to engineering careers, the IDFC FIRST Bank Engineering Scholarship Programme 2026-30 offers financial support of up to ₹1 lakh per year for four years to eligible first-year B.E. and B.Tech. students from modest family backgrounds.

The programme addresses one of the most consequential stages of higher education—the transition into professional courses, where tuition and associated costs can become a formidable barrier for financially constrained families.

For a student with academic potential but limited resources, sustained support can mean the difference between merely entering an engineering programme and actually completing it.

Women in STEM: opening doors where they matter most

The OakNorth Scholarship and Mentorship Programme 2026-27 focuses on underprivileged women pursuing STEM degrees.

The programme is available to eligible female students from Jharkhand and Bihar who have completed Class 12 and are enrolled in STEM undergraduate programmes at government institutions.

The combination of scholarship and mentorship is particularly significant because access to higher education is only one part of the challenge. Keeping talented young women within the STEM pipeline and helping them build confidence and career direction can have a multiplier effect on families and communities.

From Class 9 to higher education: a wider safety net

The SBI Platinum Jubilee Asha Scholarship 2026-27, an initiative of SBI Foundation, extends support across a broad educational spectrum.

Eligible students can include those from Classes 9 to 12 through undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as students pursuing medical, IIT, IIM and eligible overseas programmes.

The Parivartan ECSS Programme 2026-27 similarly seeks to support meritorious and financially underprivileged students from Class 1 through postgraduate level.

Together, such programmes underline an important reality: educational financial support cannot be confined to one age group. The vulnerability to dropping out changes with every stage of education—and so must the scholarship safety net.

Keeping the next generation behind the wheel of education

The Muskaan Scholarship Program 2.0 (2026-27), an initiative of Valvoline Cummins Private Ltd. (VCPL), focuses on students in Classes 9 to 12 from southern, eastern and northeastern India.

The programme seeks to support eligible children of commercial drivers and mechanics, as well as students from economically weaker sections.

This is significant because the children of workers who keep India’s transport and mobility ecosystem moving can themselves face financial barriers to continuing education.

A scholarship at the secondary-school stage can therefore become an investment not only in one child’s education but in the intergenerational mobility of an entire family.

Skills, scholarships and the employability bridge

The Eastman Powerup Eduskill Scholarship Program 2026-27, from Eastman Auto and Power Limited (EAPL), brings another dimension to educational support by combining financial assistance with industry-relevant certification courses.

The programme supports eligible engineering, diploma and management students from financially constrained backgrounds, with financial assistance of up to ₹20,000, disbursed on a milestone basis upon completion of the course.

This approach reflects the changing nature of employability: a degree may open the door, but industry-relevant skills can determine how far a young person travels through it.

The golden opportunity: don’t let deadlines become dead ends

The LIC Golden Jubilee Scholarship Scheme 2026, offered by LIC Golden Jubilee Foundation, is aimed at supporting meritorious students from economically weaker sections pursuing higher education and seeking better employment opportunities.

Across these programmes, the common thread is clear: merit exists everywhere, but opportunity does not always arrive equally.

That is why scholarship awareness needs to become a shared responsibility.

Students should carefully examine the eligibility criteria, documentation requirements, application deadlines and other conditions of each programme and apply only through the respective official scholarship/application portals.

Parents can discuss suitable opportunities with their children. Teachers can circulate alerts. Schools and colleges can create scholarship notice boards and digital groups. Career counsellors can maintain opportunity calendars. Alumni networks can mentor applicants. Community organisations can help students who may otherwise lack the information or confidence to apply.

And media platforms can help ensure that information itself does not become another privilege.

THE BIGGER IDEA

India’s educational challenge is increasingly not only about creating institutions or increasing enrolment. It is also about ensuring that a promising student is not forced to abandon the journey because the family cannot afford the next step.

Every scholarship alert that reaches the right student in time is therefore more than information—it is an intervention in a life trajectory.

The ultimate test of this initiative will not be the number of scholarships listed.

It will be the number of students who can say:

“I knew about the opportunity. I applied in time. And I stayed in education.”

STAKEHOLDER MESSAGE

For students: Search, check eligibility and apply before the deadline.

For parents: Don’t assume a scholarship is only for toppers—check the eligibility criteria carefully.

For teachers and schools: Identify deserving students and circulate verified opportunities.

For colleges and universities: Make scholarship awareness part of student support systems.

For counsellors: Maintain a live scholarship calendar and guide students towards suitable opportunities.

For CSR and philanthropic organisations: Make opportunities discoverable, accessible and inclusive.

For media: Help ensure that a life-changing opportunity does not remain hidden from the person who needs it most.