Scheduled Caste students to get 'freeship cards' in Karnataka

Karnataka is all set to introduce "freeship cards" for Scheduled Caste (SC) students receiving post-matric scholarships.

A first-of-its-kind effort, these freeship cards are basically an e-authentication that the students can show in colleges during the admission process as proof of eligibility for the scholarship. Upon showing this card, the college will be obliged to give admission to the student without payment of fees.

The government is implementing this based on the Centre's directions. Once a student secures admission, the government will credit the scholarship amount to the student into their Aadhaar-seeded bank account. The student will then pay this amount to the college. The freeship card will not be a hard copy but will be an e-document that can be downloaded and printed.

Additional Chief Secretary (e-Governance) Rajeev Chawla said this process will ensure that all students eligible for scholarship can secure admissions. The process of issuing the cards will begin within a week, he said.

Chawla's department has also proposed 'e-vouchers' for scholarships. These vouchers will be sent online to the student, who will then present them to the college. The institution will be able to credit this e-voucher into its account. "This will ensure that a student will not misuse the scholarship amount. The e-voucher will be valid only to pay the fees to the colleges," Chawla explained.

How can a student secure a freeship card? According to the Centre's guidelines, the student should register for the freeship card on the respective scholarship portal by giving Aadhaar, the name of the course they want to join along with an undertaking that they would pay the institution the scholarship amount within seven working days from which it is credited to their account.

The verification of the student's details will be automatically done through the existing State Scholarship Portal (SSP).

According to Chawla, Karnataka is the only state to have a comprehensive and integrated online SSP portal meant for both pre and post-matric scholarships. The portal was first introduced in 2018. Through this, students can apply for scholarships by merely submitting their Aadhaar numbers and college/school registration numbers. The Centre has appreciated Karnataka's efforts and has directed other states to emulate the state, Chawla said.