Oasis Scholarship Eligibility: SC/ST/OBC Criteria Explained

If you’re a student from West Bengal and belong to SC, ST or OBC community, Oasis Scholarship 2025 can literally decide whether you study stress-free or keep worrying about fees.

But before you even think about “How to apply Oasis scholarship online?”, one big question comes first:

Am I actually eligible for Oasis Scholarship 2026?

This guide breaks down Oasis scholarship eligibility 2026, category-wise, income-wise, course-wise so you can quickly see where you stand and what to do next.

Explore Digital Gujarat Scholarship, MYSY Scholarships and more in our blog section.

Who Can Apply? Basic Oasis Scholarship Eligibility for 2025

Think of these as the master rules. If you don’t pass these, no scheme under Oasis Scholarship Portal will accept you.

• Domicile of West Bengal
  • You must be a permanent resident of West Bengal. Most official and college notices clearly say scholarships are for WB domiciles only.
• Belong to SC / ST / OBC category
  • Oasis is specifically for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) students.
  • You must have a valid caste certificate issued by the Govt. of West Bengal (or get it revalidated, as recent notices advise OBC students to do).
• Studying in a recognised institution
  • You must be enrolled in a recognised school/college/university/ITI/Polytechnic, etc., within India.
  • Many colleges in WB state clearly state that only students registered in recognised institutions can get Oasis benefits.
• Within the permitted class level
  • Oasis generally covers from Class 9 up to Postgraduate/PhD under the pre- and post-matric slabs.
  • A newer pre-matric Component-2 also exists for SC students of Classes 1–8 (as per recent 2025 summaries).
• Family income within the limit
  • Different income ceilings apply for SC/ST vs OBC, and for pre-matric vs post-matric. We’ll break this down in the next section.

If you tick all these basics, you’re ready to dive deeper.

Category-Wise Oasis Scholarship Eligibility (SC, ST, OBC)

Let’s break it down for each community and study level, based on the latest public college/portal summaries for 2023–2025.

1. Pre-Matric Oasis Scholarship (Class 9–10)

For SC & ST students

• Must belong to SC or ST.
• Must be studying in Class 9 or Class 10 in a recognised school in West Bengal.
• Must be a WB domicile.
• Family annual income should generally not exceed ₹2,00,000 (older official patterns) some newer summaries mention ₹2.50 lakh, but most college circulars for pre-matric still show ₹2 lakh.

For OBC students (where applicable)

• Some updated portals and college docs show pre-matric aid also extended to OBC with ₹1,00,000 income ceiling.
• Check the current year notice on oasis.gov.in, as OBC pre-matric coverage can vary.

2. Pre-Matric Component-2 (Newer Scheme for SC – Class 1–8)

Recent Oasis scholarship explainers for 2025-26 mention a “Pre-Matric Component-2” exclusively for SC students from Class 1–8:

Category: SC only (Oasis Scholarship Eligibility)

• Class: 1 to 8
• Domicile: West Bengal
• Income ceiling: around ₹2.50 lakh/year (as per newer summaries)
• Aimed at early-school support for SC children.

✅ Action point: For Component-2, always confirm the latest PDF on the Oasis or BCW site, because it’s a relatively new component and rules can evolve.

3. Post-Matric Oasis Scholarship (Class 11 to PG / Professional Courses)

This is where most college/UG/PG students come in.

For SC/ST students (Oasis Scholarship Eligibility)

• Category: SC or ST
• Class level: Class 11 up to PG / Professional / PhD (post-secondary or post-matric courses).
• Must be studying in a recognised institution.
• Family annual income: ≤ ₹2,50,000 from all sources.

For OBC students (Oasis Scholarship Eligibility)

• Category: OBC
• Class level: Class 11 up to PG level (post-secondary).
• Family annual income: ≤ ₹1,00,000 per year.
• Must be a WB domicile and enrolled in a recognised institution.

Oasis Scholarship 2025 Income Criteria (Explained Simply)

Here’s a simple income-only view, combining pre- and post-matric patterns mentioned in recent West Bengal college docs and Oasis explainers.

Income Limits Snapshot (Oasis Scholarship Eligibility)

• SC / ST – Pre-Matric (Class 9–10): Usually ≤ ₹2,00,000/year family income.
• SC – Pre-Matric Component-2 (Class 1–8, newer): Often mentioned as ≤ ₹2,50,000/year.
• SC / ST – Post-Matric (Class 11 onwards): ≤ ₹2,50,000/year.
• OBC – Pre-Matric (where applicable): Often around ≤ ₹1,00,000/year.
• OBC – Post-Matric: ≤ ₹1,00,000/year.

Why Income Proof is So Important

Your income certificate decides whether your application is accepted or auto-rejected.

Certificates must be issued by competent authorities in West Bengal (BDO/SDO or as specified in current year notice).

If income crosses the limit, you cannot get the scholarship even if you belong to SC/ST/OBC.

Academic Qualification Requirements (Marks & Class Level)

Apart from caste & income, you must also satisfy academic eligibility.

Class Level Requirements

• Pre-Matric: You must be currently studying in Class 9 or 10 (for main pre-matric) or in Class 1–8 (for Component-2 SC).
• Post-Matric: You must be enrolled in Class 11 or higher – HS, UG, PG, diploma, ITI, or professional courses as recognised by WB.

Minimum Marks

Official Oasis PDFs mostly focus on income + category + course level. However:

• Some state/college notices mention that students should have passed the last exam (no backlogs) to continue receiving scholarship.
• 
  For certain central-scheme alignments, 50% marks may be mentioned, but this is not uniformly present across all WB notices.

Safest practice:

• Make sure you pass your previous class with decent marks and get promoted to the next class in a single attempt.
• For renewals, your institution often verifies your promotion & performance before signing your Oasis application.

Institution Type Eligibility: Which Schools & Colleges Qualify?

Students often ask:

• “My college is private / self-financed. Am I eligible for Oasis?”

The rule is less about “govt vs private” and more about recognition and course type.

Based on official & college policy documents:

Recognised Institution is a Must

Your school/college/university must be recognised by a competent authority (e.g., WBBSE, WBCHSE, MAKAUT, Calcutta University, WBUTTEPA, AICTE, UGC-recognised universities, etc.)

Within India

Oasis primarily supports students studying within India. Institutions outside West Bengal may be allowed if recognised and duly verified, but many notices emphasise courses inside WB and specific verifications for outside-WB institutes.

Hostellers & Day Scholars – Both Covered

Oasis explicitly has different rates for hostellers vs day scholars; both are considered eligible as long as other conditions are met.

Distance / Open Schooling

Classic Oasis rules were written mainly for regular students. Some distance mode / open university students may need extra clarification from their institution or welfare office, especially at post-matric level (we’ll cover this under “Special Cases”).

Who Is NOT Eligible for Oasis Scholarship 2025? (Very Important)

Knowing who is excluded is just as important as knowing who can apply.
From earlier SC/ST/OBC scholarship patterns under state & central rules (and Oasis summaries), the following are usually NOT eligible:

• Students not domiciled in West Bengal
• Even if you study in WB but your permanent residence (and caste certificate) is from another state, Oasis generally will not accept you.
• Students without valid caste certificate (SC/ST/OBC)
• “General category” students are not covered under Oasis.
• SC/ST/OBC without proper WB caste certificate (or updated/revalidated certificate) are treated as ineligible.
• Family income above the ceiling
• If your annual family income exceeds:
  • ₹2–2.5 lakh (depending on scheme) for SC/ST, or
  • ₹1 lakh for OBC post-matric, you are usually not eligible.
• Students already receiving similar scholarships
• Many government scholarship rules prevent you from drawing two major scholarships of the same type for the same course at the same time.
• Students in unrecognised or non-approved courses
• Short-term coaching, unapproved private certificate courses, or unrecognised institutions typically do not qualify.
• Irregular students
  • Those who are not attending regularly, not promoted, or drop out mid-course risk cancellation or non-renewal.
• Special Cases: Hostel, Distance Education, Migration & Course Changes

Some situations are not black-and-white

Here’s how to think about them.

1. Hostelers / Ashram-Hostel Students

Oasis has specific components for hostel grants, especially for SC students in school-attached or Ashram hostels.

You’ll need hostel certificate / warden letter and sometimes separate verification.

If you’re a hosteller:

Make sure you tick “hosteller” correctly and upload hostel proof, or your amount may be calculated as day-scholar.

2. Distance Education & Open Universities

Oasis rules emphasise regular students.

Some distance/ODL programmes from recognised universities may still be accepted if:

• They’re recognised by UGC/AICTE/etc., and
• Your institute processes your Oasis application like regular students.
• Because there is no unified public clarification, distance mode students should check with college + district PO-cum-DWO before applying.

3. Changing Institution or Course (Migration)

If you shift from one college to another within the same course level, usually you must:

• Inform the welfare office,
• Update your details in Oasis during renewal,
• Get your new institution to verify your application.
• For complete course change (say, from BA to BSc), you should confirm whether your previous year’s scholarship affects new eligibility.

4. Gap Year in Study

Many state/central scholarship schemes do not allow a “gap year” between classes for continuing the same scholarship.

If you take a gap, fail to renew, or discontinue your course, your Oasis benefit may stop and may not restart automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Oasis Scholarship Eligibility 2026

Final Word: How to Use This Eligibility Guide Smartly

Use this article as your Oasis Scholarship Eligibility checklist:

• ✅ Are you SC/ST/OBC?
• ✅ West Bengal domicile with valid caste certificate?
• ✅ Inside the correct class range (9–10 or 11–PG, or 1–8 for SC Component-2)?
• ✅ Family income within the correct ceiling?
• ✅ Studying in a recognised institution in India?

If all answers are yes, you’re probably good to go for Oasis Scholarship 2025.