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Posted By Supriya Posted On

How To Claim Children Education Allowances Post Retirement For Army/Air Force/Navy Personnel

Hello, my ESM Friends,

I know, many of you are not aware that you are entitled to draw Children Education Allowances (CEA) even after you retire from defense services. Whatever services you belong to (Army/Air Force/navy), there is a provision to draw CEA post-retirement @ ₹1000/- per month and all other rules remain the same as per the prevailing rule.

Since not many people know about it or not provided the right information about this facility, a majority portion of the ESM (Ex-Service Men) are not claiming this money for the education aid of their children. This is because of a lack of knowledge at the offices they were dealing with and no proper information provided to ESMs during retirement formalities.

That is the reason why I am writing this so that my fellow ESMs should avail of this facility and get support from me if they are stuck anywhere. I will be there to help you with any type of support you require to make your claim pass and you draw the eligible amount.

WHAT IS CHILDREN EDUCATION ALLOWANCES (CEA)?

The Children Education allowance was introduced by w.e.f. 1-9-2008 on the basis of the recommendation of the 6th Central pay Commission (CPC). In the background of escalation of school fees and other expenses connected with the education of Children, the present scheme has been a big relief for the Government employees. Presently the allowance is admissible for two children, for studying in a recognized school up to XII standard. The maximum ceiling is stipulated at Rs.18000/- since this allowance had been hiked by 50% because of the DA component in salary having been crossed 100% on 1.1.2014.

HOW AN EX-SERVICE MAN CAN AVAIL THIS FACILITY?

This facility can be availed in two ways. offline mode and online mode. To know this first know that this scheme comes under the heading of Financial Assistance for Education of Children/Widows of ESM (For School/College going Children of ESM up to Havildar)

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION OF CHILDREN/WIDOWS OF ESM

1. Background: This scheme to provide financial assistance to ESM and their widows for helping them in educating their wards was started in 1981 with an amount of Rs 15/- per child per month for a maximum of three children up to Class XII. This scheme was last revised on Oct 2011 into a monthly grant of Rs 1000/- per month per child (for maximum two children) up to graduation and also for widows to pursue Post Graduation degree.

2. Aim: The aim of this scheme is to provide scholarships to up to a maximum of two dependent children of ESM or their widows, up to the ranks of Havildar in the Army and equivalent in the Navy and Air Force, and to widows for a post-graduation degree course.

3. Financial Assistance: For education is provided out of AFFD Fund @ Rs.1000/- per month per head (up to max two children) of eligible ESM and their widows, for the previous academic year, payable in one installment in a financial year. This is applicable for classes 1 to 12 of the school and undergraduate classes of a degree college. This grant is also admissible to widows who wish to pursue a 2-year post-graduate degree. This grant is not applicable to any of the professional or technical courses/degrees.

4. Eligibility Conditions: The following criteria must be fulfilled to avail of this grant:-
(a) The applicant must be an ESM/ widow/Orphan dependent.
(b) Should be of rank Havildar/equivalent and below.
(c) The child should have passed the previous class.
(d) It should be recommended by the respective Zila Sainik Board (ZSB).
(e) Should not be drawing an education allowance from the State or his Employer.

5. Application: The application should be made on the prescribed application form with the recommendation of the concerned Zila Sainik Welfare Officer (ZSWO) on it. A specimen application form is placed as Annexure 1. Copies of the following documents duly attested by the respective ZSWO must accompany the application:-
(a) Complete Discharge Book/Documents.
(b) ESM or Widow I-Card issued by respective ZSB.
(c) Mark-sheet / School Progress Card of child/children.
(d) Part –II Order mentioning names of the child(ren) for which grant is sought or there should be a proper entry to this effect in the Discharge Book/Documents.

(e) A certificate from the applicant saying that he/she has not taken any money/grant from the state or present employer in the form of education allowance or scholarship.

(f) Details of Bank A/c No (in PNB/SBI only) and IFS Code.
(g) Aadhar Card copy

6. Channel of Application: The application for the just-concluded academic year must be submitted by an eligible ESM / their widows to respective ZSB in the month of May for non-board classes, in Jul for the board classes 10th & 12th and in Aug for under-graduate course students. ZSWO will scrutinize the applications and if found correct, will forward (hard copy and its requisite data in digital form) directly to the KSB Sectt by 31 July, 30 Sep, and 31 Oct
respectively for payment in the current financial year. Old cases will not be accepted,

7. Processing at KSB: On receipt at the KSB Sectt, the applications will be filed in order of receipt. Section-in-Charge will assign the file to the designated clerk who will enter/check the data of the applications into a computer. Another clerk will be designated to check the correctness of the entries and eligibility of applicants. Section-in-Charge will also check the same and put up to JD(Welfare). Such applications in a lot pertaining to AFFDF will be moved for approval of the competent authority preferably on a quarterly basis.

8. Payment Procedure: After approval of the applications, the same will be processed for payment by the Welfare Section. After verifying the service number, name, bankers, IFS Code, and account number of the applicants, Welfare Section will forward the approved list to the Accounts Section for payments, which will release the payments via ECS to the beneficiaries.

9. Subsequent Grants: A fresh application is required to be made for all the subsequent academic years provided the child(ren) has/have satisfactorily advanced to the next class. The subsequent applications should also be submitted through ZSB in the month of May. ZSB will forward all the applications to KSB Sectt by 31 July (and 30 Sep for the college students) each year for consideration in the current financial year.

10. Jt Dir (Welfare) will put up the list of approved applicants and their payment status whenever made on to the website (www.desw.gov.in)

IMPORTANT FOR YOU

Hence, you are aware of the procedure now, you can do it yourself. Just to make some points more clear, just visit www.ksb.gov.in and you can fill the form online. You just need to register with your service details and once you confirm your email, you will be given a password to log in. Your email is your user ID. The procedure is very simple. Anyone can do this. Kendriya Sainik Board

After you login click on New Application

Just follow this image for further guidance.

Next, your form will appear in front of you. Just fill in all the required details. Make sure you have all the scanned copies of the following documents. Remember, the size of the scanned copies should no way be more than 1MB. However, you can convert them to PDF format if the JPG files size is more than 1MB.

1. Service Document/Discharge Book of ESM (Page that contains ESM/Personal Particulars, Service Particulars, and Family Particulars )

2. Identity Card of ESM/Widows

3. Mark-sheet / School Progress Card of child/children (For Child 1)

4. Mark-sheet / School Progress Card of child/children (For Child 2)

5. Details of Bank A/c No (in PNB/SBI only) and IFS Code (Upload First page of Passbook/ Cancelled Cheque)

6. Aadhar Card copy

7. Order mentioning names of the child(ren) for which grant is sought or there should be a proper entry to this effect in the Discharge Book/Documents

8. A certificate from the applicant saying that he/she has not taken any money/grant from the state or present employer in the form of an education allowance or scholarship. Download the Sample Format Here.

Once you have uploaded all the documents, recheck everything. because once you submit the form, after that you will not be able to make any changes. Once you are assured that everything is correct just click on the button at the bottom “Save and Forward“. Once you do this, you will see this type of message on your dashboard.

Now you have to wait until it is approved by the Zilla Sainik Board. Once it is approved, you have to take a print out of it and send it either by post or personally, you can visit your Regional Sainik Board to submit the hard copy of the form with all supporting documents.

IMPORTANT: Don’t forget to take all the originals with you if you are visiting personally.

It will take some time to process your application at RSB and the amount will directly credit to your given bank account.

I believe I have clarified all your doubts from my end and I have tried my best to answer you’re probable doubts. If still, you have any doubts, the comment box is all yours to ask your queries and I will be happy to reply to you in the shortest possible time.