Formerly day-scholar students of class V-VIII belonging to Scheduled Caste category enjoyed two grants namely a) assistance in the form of book grant and b) assistance in the form of maintenance grant. The amount of such grants was meagre and did not serve the intended purpose. Further the method of selection of candidates and that of disbursements is cumbersome and time consuming.In order to do away with these predicaments inherent in the scheme and to provide quality assistance to SC students of Classes V to VIII in a smooth, transparent and efficient way, a new scheme of providing assistance to the target group is being formulated in the name of 'Shikshashree'. 'Shikshashree' scheme of providing assistance to SC day-scholars of Class V-VIII is evolved by merging the existing schemes of Book Grant and Maintenance Grant. It is applicable to the day scholars of West Bengal reading in class V-VIII in any Government, Government-aided and all Government recognized schools of West Bengal.The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance to the SC students reading in classes V to VIII to improve their participation in Pre-matric stages and minimize the incidence of drop-out especially in case of girl students.