Kakinada, Nov 6th: A total of 2,815 school children in East Godavari district will take test of the centrally sponsored National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMS) scheme at 13 examination centers in the district on Nov 18. As per the scheme, students will get Rs 500 per month as scholarship till they complete class XII. Students above Class IX are entitled for this scholarship and they would be selected through two test, which consists of a mental ability test (MAT) and scholastic ability test (SAT).

While MAT may consist of 90 multiple choice questions testing verbal and non verbal meta-cognitive abilities like reasoning and critical thinking, SAT covers subjects namely, maths, science, and social studies as taught in classes VII and VIII. Students must pass MAT, SAT with at least 40 per cent marks in each and also must have scored 55 per cent marks of equivalent grade in the class VIII examination. Later, the qualified students will be asked to open a joint account with their parents in any branch of the State Bank of India. The scholarship amount will directly be credited into the account. The awardee will be provided with ATM cards to withdraw money.