In a significant move to support higher education, the Kerala government has announced a major financial infusion for student scholarships. The state has allocated an additional Rs 200 crore specifically for post-matric scholarships benefiting students from the Other Eligible Communities (OEC) category.
Massive Scholarship Allocation for Marginalized Students
This fresh allocation, announced on Friday, November 8, 2025, by the office of State Finance Minister K N Balagopal, substantially boosts the state's commitment to educational equity. With this latest injection of funds, the Kerala government has now allocated a staggering Rs 5,326 crore this year alone for scholarships covering students from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and the OEC categories.
Clearing Pending Arrears and Historical Context
The newly approved Rs 200 crore is designated for distributing scholarships to OEC and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) category students. This additional funding comes on top of the Rs 240 crore originally budgeted for this purpose earlier this year.
According to the official statement, this substantial top-up will enable the government to clear all pending arrears under this scholarship category in full. The scale of actual need became evident last year when the government, despite initially budgeting only Rs 40 crore, ended up distributing approximately Rs 358 crore after including arrears from previous years.
The statement also provided a comparative analysis of scholarship distributions across different administrations. During the first Pinarayi Vijayan government, Rs 3,853 crore was distributed for scholarships to marginalized community students. This contrasts with the Rs 2,069 crore spent during the Oommen Chandy government period, highlighting the current administration's increased focus on educational funding.
