The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has released the registration and counselling schedule for the Special Scholarship Scheme for the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (SSSJKL), for the academic session 2026-27. The scheme runs under the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM USP) Yojana and covers two groups of students: those who have passed the 10+2 examination, and those who hold an Engineering Diploma. It combines a seat allotment process with financial assistance, covering academic fees and, for some courses, a maintenance allowance.
Registration opens on 16 July 2026 for 10+2 students and on 17 July 2026 for Engineering Diploma holders.
Who Can Apply
Two separate groups of students are covered under this scheme.
10+2 (HSC) students: Those who passed their 10+2 examination from a JKBOSE or CBSE school located in Jammu & Kashmir or Ladakh, in either of two academic sessions, 2024-25 (enrolled in 2024 and passed in 2025) or 2025-26 (enrolled in 2025 and passed in 2026), are eligible.
Engineering Diploma holders: Students who passed their diploma in academic year 2025 or 2026 from the J&K Board of Technical Education are eligible for lateral entry admission into the second year of an engineering programme.
Courses Covered and Financial Assistance
The amount of support depends on the course a student is admitted to.
For students entering through the 10+2 route:
- General degree courses: academic fee assistance up to Rs. 30,000 per year
- Professional courses such as Engineering, Nursing, Pharmacy, Hotel Management, Architecture (for those who qualify NATA), and BA LLB through an NLU: academic fee assistance up to Rs. 1.25 lakh per year
- Medical, BDS, or equivalent courses: academic fee assistance up to Rs. 3 lakh per year
For Professional courses and for Medical or BDS courses, the notification also lists a maintenance allowance of Rs. 1 lakh per year, paid in ten equal instalments through NSP. The official notification does not specify a maintenance allowance for General degree courses.
For diploma holders entering through lateral entry into the second year of an engineering programme, academic fee assistance of up to Rs. 1.25 lakh per year is available. The official notification does not specify a maintenance allowance for this category.
How and When to Register
Students can register online through the AICTE SSSJKL student portal at https://www.aicte-jk-scholarship-gov.in. Those who are unable to register online may visit their nearest Facilitation Centre for help.
Online registration and application submission runs from 16 July to 27 July 2026.
After registering, document verification is compulsory at the nearest Facilitation cum Document Verification Centre (FDVC), from 18 July to 28 July 2026. The portal for certificate verification closes at 5:00 PM on 28 July 2026, so students should not leave this for the last day. A list of FDVCs is available on the AICTE website.
If any details in a student's registration need correction, an update window is open at the FDVC from 29 July to 30 July 2026. After 5:00 PM on 30 July 2026, AICTE will not accept any further update requests, so this is worth checking carefully before the deadline closes.
Choice filling for candidates whose documents have been verified opens on 29 July and continues until 31 July 2026.
Counselling and Seat Allotment
The final merit list will be announced on the student portal on 4 August 2026 at 5:00 PM. Seat allocation results follow on 7 August 2026, visible on each student's login.
Students must confirm and freeze their allotted seat through the portal by 5:00 PM on 7 August 2026. Once a seat is confirmed, the college and course cannot be changed later. If a student fails to confirm within this window, the seat is cancelled and reallocated to another candidate in a later round, and no request will be considered after that cancellation.
Between 7 August and 14 August 2026, students must report to their allotted institute and upload their joining report on the portal. Any seat where the student has not reported within this period will be cancelled automatically on 16 August 2026.
A subsequent round of counselling will be held only if the number of seats confirmed and frozen in the first round is less than 5000. Students should not assume a second round will definitely take place.
Important Instructions
A few additional rules from the notification are worth keeping in mind.
The calendar of events above is tentative and can change, so students should keep checking the AICTE website and their portal login for updates.
If a student receives an allotment through NEET, JEE, or CUET counselling before SSSJKL counselling begins, they must immediately inform AICTE by filling the entrance examination option on the portal after logging in, so that the seat can be released to another candidate.
Students who are allotted a seat must download their allotment letter from the portal using their login ID.
Students selected in a Central University such as Delhi University or Jamia Millia Islamia through CUET may join that college after completing the university's own admission process. Their SSSJKL allotment letter stays valid until that process is complete, but they should also track updates on the CUET and university websites separately.
When a student physically reports to the allotted institute, the institute is responsible for verifying documents and confirming the joining on the portal, which blocks the seat. This step helps AICTE track how many seats are genuinely vacant for the next round.
If an academic session is delayed, online joining confirmation is allowed. In that case, the institute can press the confirmation button on the portal, but only after receiving written consent from the student through their registered email, mentioning the candidate ID.
Grievances and Help
Grievances related to this scheme are accepted only through the email jkadmission2026@aicte-india.org, or through the central grievance portal, and only if the Candidate ID, name, and an active mobile number are mentioned. General queries about the scheme can also be sent to the same email address.
More information about the scheme, including the scheme guidelines, is available at https://www.aicte.gov, and further admission updates will also be posted on same portal.
Quick Recap for Students
- Registration opens 16 July 2026 for 10+2 students and 17 July 2026 for Diploma holders. Both close on 27 July 2026.
- Document verification at the FDVC is compulsory, from 18 July to 28 July 2026.
- Final merit list is announced on 4 August 2026, and seat allotment results follow on 7 August 2026.
- Seat confirmation deadline is 7 August 2026, 5:00 PM. Missing it means losing the allotted seat.
- Reporting to the allotted institute must be completed by 14 August 2026.
The document verification deadline and the seat confirmation deadline are the two dates that matter most in this schedule. Missing either one removes the seat from consideration, and the notification does not describe any way to request an exception afterward.
This article is based on AICTE's official notification, Advt. No. AICTE/SSSJKL Cell/07(02)/2026. Students should verify the schedule on the official AICTE SSSJKL portal, since the notification itself states that dates are tentative and subject to change.