CHENNAI: In the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMS) exam held by the Directorate of Government Examination (DGE), as many as 5,890 Class 8 students have cleared the exam in Tamil Nadu.
Salem district topped the list with as many as 353 students successfully clearing the exam.
The scholarship exam organised by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) is an entrance exam to provide scholarships to eligible students studying in government, aided, and panchayat schools in the State. And, the students are graded on the Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
Class 8 students who clear the exam will be given Rs 1,000 per month, starting from classes 9 to 12.
“Rs 12,000 per year will be given to students who clear NMMS. Overall, Rs 48,000 will be given till Class 12,” said a government school teacher in-charge of the exam.
As per the department, after Salem, 339 students cleared the exam in Dharmapuri, 315 in Tirunelveli, 312 in Thoothukudi and 301 students in Virudhunagar.
Additionally, 296 students cleared the exam in Madurai, 283 students in Trichy, 208 in Coimbatore.
However, in the case of Chennai and neighbouring districts, the performance was rather dull.
In Chennai, 145 students cleared the exam, followed by 147 students in Kancheepuram, 82 in Chengalpattu, and 164 students in Tiruvallur district.
Meanwhile, students of Nellukadai Street Municipal Middle School in Nagapattinam have been showing consistent performance over the years.
The number of students clearing the exam in the particular school through the years has been; 2016-2017 – (1), 2017-2018 – (1), 2018-2019 – (5), 2019-2020 – (4), 2021-2022 – (3) and 2022-2023 – (1) and 2024 – (2).