This year, there has been a significant surge in the number of schools participating in admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, with over 9.5 lakh seats available in 75,000 schools across the state. This increase is attributed to a recent amendment to the RTE implementation rules in Maharashtra, which now includes all government and aided schools in the RTE admission process, previously limited to self-financed schools.
Following the amendment in February, private schools located within a one-kilometer radius of a government or aided school in Maharashtra are no longer obliged to offer admissions under the RTE quota. This quota previously allocated 25% of seats in self-financed and private schools for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
As a result of RTE admissions being redirected to government-run and aided schools, the number of participating schools has seen a significant rise this year. Over 75,000 schools are now registered for RTE admissions, compared to approximately 8,800 schools last year, when RTE admissions were confined to self-financed schools exclusively.
Self-financed schools are no longer mandated to admit students under RTE, as they are all incorporated into the system under the new amendment this year.
Sharad Gosavi, Director of Primary Education, said, “There is no clarity yet on which private schools will not have to admit children under RTE, as the allotment will be as per the candidates’ residential address. We have included all schools in the system, but in the process of allotment, it is government or aided-schools that will be given preference. But self-financed schools will also be considered if there is no government school in the locality.”
