RTE admissions to begin from Feb 8th

Students can opt for enrolment in private unaided schools as the Right to Education (RTE) admissions are set to begin from February 8. Through this online admission students of weak financial background can study for free in private unaided schools till Class 8.

Under the RTE Act, 2009, 25% seats in private unaided schools are reserved for marginalised students. Students of families with an annual income less than Rs 1 lakh can apply for RTE admission. The elementary education of these students (from Class 1 to Class 8) is entirely funded by the state government.

7,449 seats are available for RTE admissions for academic year 2018-19 in 334 private unaided schools of Mumbai. Mahesh Palkar, BMC Education officer who is in charge of RTE admissions, said, "We will start the online admission process by February 8. Parents can apply online and will have to submit Income Certificate as proof

of their yearly income."

This year, the Income Certificate will be verified thoroughly as the RTE admission website is linked with the Maha portal online. "We have linked the website to avoid any inconvenience or cheating in the Income Certificate. Students can submit income certificate of guardian or widowed mother while earlier students had to submit certificate of the father only," Palkar added.

Parents can chose 10 schools while applying online. In addition, a mobile application and online grievance cell has been created to help parents in the admission process. A parent said, “We should realise RTE admissions are for those who cannot afford high-end fees. Parents should not fake certificates or documents to avail the benefit of free education.”

BMC teachers have also created a video on YouTube to educate parents about the steps involved in the admission and application process.