A video featuring a woman claiming that the central government is distributing 4.34 lakh mobile phones and tabs to students scoring 80 percent or more in the upcoming Class X and Class XII board examinations in 2024, along with a yearly scholarship of Rs. 20,000, is being widely shared across social media platforms. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Central government is distributing 4.34 lakh mobile phones and tabs to students scoring 80 percent or more in the upcoming Class X and Class XII board examinations 2024.
Fact: There are no reports about Central government distributing mobile phones and tablets to Class X and Class XII students. If the central government had indeed launched such a scheme for students, it would have been widely reported by news agencies and Press Information Bureau, Government of India. However, there are reports about various state governments distributing mobile phones, laptops, and tabs to students. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet. However, we didn’t find any reports about the central government distributing 4.34 lakh mobile phones and tabs to students scoring 80 percent or more in the upcoming Class X and Class XII board examinations in 2024. If the central government had indeed launched such a scheme for students, it would have been widely reported by news agencies and Press Information Bureau, Government of India.
In this search, we found multiple reports (here, here & here) regarding several states distributing smartphones and tablets to students. According to these reports, the Uttar Pradesh Government launched a scheme in December 2021 planning to distribute one crore smartphones and tablets to students in the state. In the year 2022, the Andhra Pradesh government distributed tablets worth ₹620 crore to 4.34 lakh students. The West Bengal government has initiated a scheme through which money is transferred to students’ accounts so that they can buy tablets or smartphones and continue with their online education. This scheme is for Class XII students studying in 14,000 government and government-aided schools and 636 madrasas. Reports regarding various states distributing smartphones and tablets can be seen here.
Subsequently, we also checked the National Scholarship Portal and found that, at present, the central government is offering 18 types of scholarships under various categories. Out of these, two scholarships, namely the National Means Cum Merit Scholarship and the Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for College and University Students, are given to students from all categories, communities, and religions, unlike other scholarships.
The National Means Cum Merit Scholarship is offered by the Department of School Education & Literacy, Government of India. This scheme was launched in 2008 with the objective of awarding scholarships to meritorious students from economically weaker sections to prevent dropouts at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education at the secondary stage. One lakh fresh scholarships are awarded to selected students of class IX every year, and their continuation/renewal in classes X to XII for study in State Government, Government-aided, and Local body schools under the scheme. The amount of the scholarship is Rs. 12,000 per annum. Each State/UT conducts its own test at the stage of class VIII for the selection of students for the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship. The State Level Examination may consist of the following two tests: Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
The Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students is offered by the Department of Higher Education, Government of India. The scheme has been operational since 2008, with the objective of providing financial assistance to meritorious students from families with an income of less than Rs. 4.5 lakh per annum, helping them meet a part of their day-to-day expenses while pursuing higher studies. The annual target of this scheme is to award 82,000 scholarships per year (41,000 for boys and 41,000 for girls), divided among the State Education Boards based on the state’s population in the age group of 18-25 years. Students who are above the 80th percentile of successful candidates in the relevant stream from a particular Board of Examination in class XII and pursuing a regular course, without availing benefits of any other scholarships, are eligible to apply under this scheme. The rate of scholarship is Rs. 12,000 per annum for the first three years and Rs. 20,000 per annum for the fourth and fifth years.
To sum it up, the Central government has not launched any scheme to distribute mobile phones and tablets to Class X and Class XII students.
