New Delhi, June 28: For the first time in its 46-year existence, the National Council for Education Research and Training will fund doctoral programmes of select students working in education.

The move is a part of the NCERT’s efforts to push inter-disciplinary learning, officials said.

Ten students — Malabika Biswas, a girl from Birbhum district in Bengal is among them — have been chosen by the NCERT through a rigorous two-stage selection process.

The areas of research of the selected students vary from studying whether the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has benefited physically challenged students in eastern Uttar Pradesh to the physical education infrastructure in Bengal’s primary schools.

Students who apply for the fellowship — to be an annual feature from now on — have to be enrolled for a doctoral programme in India.

In the first stage, they will be shortlisted for an interview and presentation by an internal panel of the NCERT, based on the nature of research the students are interested in.

Next, the shortlisted students will have to appear before a committee consisting of experts — both from the NCERT and other reputed institutions — and present a synopsis of the work they plan during their research.

Students already in the midst of their PhD programmes can also apply for the fellowship, NCERT officials said.

The funding will be identical to the Junior Research Fellowship that the University Grants Commission already offers.

Selected students will receive Rs 8,000 a month for the first two years, and Rs 9,000 a month subsequently, for the duration of their research. They will also receive various other entitlements — for books, magazines, etc.

Students will have to make presentations twice a year, detailing the progress of the research, before an NCERT committee of experts, which will decide whether or not to continue funding the research.