‘Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas’ (SHRESHTA)

October 12, 2023

In a significant move aimed at advancing education and promoting the socio-economic progress of Scheduled Castes (SCs), the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has introduced the ‘Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas’ (SHRESHTA).
The primary goal of this initiative is to extend the impact of government development programmes and bridge service gaps in areas predominantly inhabited by SC communities within the education sector.
The scheme’s core strategy involves fostering collaboration between grant-in-aid institutions managed by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and residential high schools offering quality education.
Each year, the program will choose about 3,000 deserving SC children and grant them admission to the top private residential schools in the nation.
The scheme’s implementation is structured in two distinct modes.
- First, there are the SHRESHTA schools, which comprise the best CBSE/State Board-affiliated private residential schools. Under this mode, a specified number of outstanding SC students in various States and Union Territories (UTs) will be selected annually through the National Entrance Test for SHRESHTA (NETS), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
- The second mode of implementation pertains to NGO/VO Operated Schools/Hostels.This mode specifically applies to schools and hostels operated by voluntary organizations (VOs) and NGOs, offering education up to the 12th standard.