RTE round 4 over, but 4.7K seats still vacant

More than 4,000 seats in the Right to Education (RTE) quota are vacant even after four rounds of admissions. This is despite the state conducting admissions on time for the first time in four years without any delay.

Under the RTE Act, unaided, non-minority schools are required to reserve 25% seats for disadvantaged groups and offer them free education till class 8.

On Tuesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) allotted 203 seats to students in the fifth and final round of admissions, which will conclude on April 29, in time for the April 30 deadline set by the government — a feat that has not been achieved in the four years since the process began.

But the number of admissions continue to remain low. Only 2,747 students out of 7,449 applicants have secured admissions so far. In the fourth round that ended on April 18, only 82 students

confirmed their seats, out of 370 allotments.

Officials said the problem lies with students seeking admission only to a handful of schools. As many as 34 schools are still to receive a single application. “This year the admission process was conducted without a hitch or delay, but even then there are over 4,000 vacant seats,” said

Mahesh Palkar, education officer, BMC. “Parents are choosing only those schools which are in demand, while other schools do not get a single application.”

The low number can also be attributed to schools rejecting students for not producing proper documents while taking admission or parents not turning up in time to secure admissions. “We extend the deadline for taking admissions, but still some parents get left out because they might have gone on vacation,” said Nisaar Khan, BMC education inspector.

He added that the department will probe these cases where schools have turned away allotted students, to see if they were justified in doing so.