School Scholarships in Nepal: Girls', Dalit, Disability & Conflict-Affected

In Nepal, chhatravriti (छात्रवृत्ति, scholarship) at the basic and secondary school level is not a competitive award for top scorers. It is an equity grant: a stipend meant to lower the cost of schooling for girls and for children from groups that have historically been under-enrolled or at risk of dropping out. The stated purpose is to widen access, keep children in class, and reduce disparities by gender, caste, disability and geography.

These school-level scholarships are financed by the federal government through the education budget and are channelled to schools and local governments. Since Nepal moved to a federal structure, day-to-day delivery sits with the 753 local governments (municipalities and rural municipalities) and their education sections, while national policy, budgeting and reporting are coordinated by the Centre for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD, formerly the Department of Education) under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST).

Because these are pro-equity grants rather than merit prizes, eligibility usually depends on who a child is (girl, Dalit, disabled, conflict-affected) and where they study, not on marks. The amounts are deliberately small per child but reach very large numbers of students each year. For fiscal year 2081/82 (2024/25 AD), the government budgeted about Rs 7.39 billion in scholarships for roughly 1.5 million students from basic education up to higher and technical education.

The Girls' Scholarship Program (GSP), widely searched as balika chhatravriti or girls scholarship Nepal, is the country's longest-running school incentive for female students. Its purpose is to close the gender gap in enrolment and, especially, in retention through the basic grades, where girls have historically dropped out earlier than boys. The scheme grew out of decades of 'girls' incentive' policy and was scaled up over time.

A key milestone came in 2010/11 (around 2067 BS), when the government expanded what had been a 50 percent girls' scholarship into a 100 percent Girls' Scholarship covering all girls in the targeted basic grades, rather than a fixed quota per school. In practice the grant is administered through the girl's own school: the school enrols eligible girls, receives the per-student allocation, and disburses or applies it, with the local education section overseeing the process.

Per-student amounts under the school stipend schemes are modest and have been revised over the years, so parents should treat any single figure as indicative and confirm the current rate with the school. Historically these girls' and equity stipends have been in the low hundreds to low thousands of rupees per year, structured as a small monthly amount across the school months. The value of the GSP is less the cash itself than the message that a girl's schooling is expected and funded.

The Dalit scholarship, searched as dalit scholarship Nepal or dalit chhatravriti, is a targeted grant for children from Dalit communities, who face documented barriers to staying in school. It is one of the largest school-level equity schemes by headcount. The state treats Dalit students as a priority group across both basic and secondary levels, and the grant is intended to offset direct and indirect costs of attendance.

The scale is significant: in fiscal year 2081/82 (2024/25 AD), the government allocated around Rs 210 million in Dalit scholarship for roughly 552,000 Dalit students studying in grades 1-5, in addition to Dalit-focused support at higher levels. This shows the scheme's reach: it is designed as near-universal coverage for Dalit children in the targeted basic grades rather than a limited number of awards.

Per-student amounts are indicative and have been revised over time; earlier studies of the Dalit school scholarship recorded values in the range of a few hundred rupees per student per year. As with the girls' grant, the money flows to the school on the basis of enrolled, verified Dalit students, and families apply through the school and the local education office rather than through a national exam.

The scholarship for students with disabilities supports children with physical, sensory, intellectual or other impairments so they can enrol and continue in school. It is part of Nepal's broader push toward inclusive education, which also funds disabled-friendly classrooms, resource classes and assistive support in community schools. The grant recognises that disability adds costs - for equipment, transport, an assistant or residential care - that ordinary families struggle to meet.

For scholarship purposes, students with disabilities are commonly grouped by the level of support they need. In the administrative categories used for this scheme, higher grades correspond to greater dependence: for example, students who can move only with the help of equipment and another person and who must live away from home to attend school receive a higher grant than those who need equipment alone. This tiering means the annual amount varies by category and by whether the child is in a residential (hostel) arrangement.

Because rates differ by category and are periodically updated, families should confirm the current amount and the required disability documentation with the school and the local education section. A disability identity card issued under Nepal's disability card system, along with enrolment records, is generally used to establish eligibility. Residential and special-school placements for children with more severe disabilities are supported separately from the day-scholar stipend.

Nepal provides education support to the children of those killed (martyrs) and of people affected during the 1996-2006 (2052-2063 BS) armed conflict, as part of the state's transitional-justice and relief commitments. This is distinct from the equity stipends above because eligibility is tied to a family's conflict status, established through official records rather than caste or gender. The framework connects to relief provided under the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014 (2071 BS).

At the school level this scholarship has historically been paid by education stage, with the grant rising as the child moves up. Reported per-year values for conflict-affected and martyrs' children have been in the order of about Rs 10,000 at the primary stage, Rs 12,000 at the lower-secondary stage, Rs 14,000 at the secondary stage and Rs 16,000 at the higher-secondary stage - noticeably larger than the general equity stipends, reflecting their relief purpose. Treat these as indicative, as rates and administering rules have changed over time.

Coverage has practical limits that parents should know about. Reporting has highlighted caps such as support for a limited number of children per affected family and age limits that can cut off the grant before a student finishes secondary school. Because eligibility rests on District Administration Office and relief records, families often coordinate with both the district authorities and the school to claim and continue the scholarship.

For all of these school-level scholarships, there is no separate national online exam or portal for the child to sit. The gateway is the community (public) school where the child is enrolled, working with the education section of the local government (municipality or rural municipality). Under federalism, the old District Education Offices have largely been replaced by local-level education units and the district-level Education Development and Coordination Units, but the practical flow is the same: schools identify eligible children and the local government funds and monitors the grant.

In practice, parents enrol the child in the community school and declare the relevant status - girl, Dalit, disability, or conflict-affected - at admission, providing supporting documents. The school records eligible students, submits the numbers to the local education section, and receives the per-student allocation, which it then applies or disburses to families. CEHRD sets the national rates and rules and consolidates reporting; individual local governments may top up or add their own scholarships on top of the federal scheme.

Because rates, deadlines and documentation vary by year and by local government, the most reliable step is to ask the head teacher or the ward/municipal education officer at admission time about which scholarships the child qualifies for and what proof is needed. Keep the child's birth certificate, citizenship of parents, caste/community proof, disability ID card, or conflict-relief documents ready, as the exact requirements depend on which scheme applies.

The biggest caveat for parents is that per-student amounts are small and change from year to year, so any figure quoted online (including here) should be checked against the current year's official rate. Government school scholarships are designed to reduce cost barriers and signal that a child's education is supported; they rarely cover the full cost of attending school, and families usually still bear some expenses.

Delivery gaps are also documented. Government and independent studies of school-level scholarships have flagged issues such as delayed disbursement, weak targeting, and money not always reaching the intended child, alongside coverage caps in the conflict-affected scheme. This is why keeping enrolment and category documents in order, and following up with the school, matters for actually receiving the grant.

Finally, these federal school scholarships sit alongside other supports - local-government scholarships, the school meal program in priority districts, and separate higher-education and technical scholarships administered by bodies such as the University Grants Commission and CTEVT. For school-age children the school and the local education section remain the single most important contact point for accurate, current information.