Why Maharashtra’s RTE rules keep running into legal troubles

What is school admission under the RTE Act? And what are the new rules in Maharashtra?

As per school admissions under the RTE Act, 25 percent seats in private unaided schools are reserved for children coming from socio-economically disadvantaged families. The state conducts an individual district level admissions process which is held online. Once parents apply for admission under RTE, seats are allotted to students in selected schools. After admission under RTE, school education up to Class 8 is completely free for such children, with the government reimbursing respective schools for the expenditure incurred on them. Although admissions under the RTE are broadly uniform across India since it is a central law, states are allowed to frame their own rules for implementation.

Last month, Maharashtra’s school education department via a Government Resolution (GR) announced significant changes to the rules of RTE admissions in the state. While the overall process remains similar to that of last year’s; two important modifications are introduced. These are – applicants can now select schools within one kilometre of the student’s registered address, replacing the earlier provision that permitted selection of schools within a three-kilometre radius and beyond and applicants are now required to upload all necessary documents online at the time of application, instead of submitting them at the time of admission as per the earlier practice. Another important change brought with the revision is setting up a timeline for conducting RTE admissions.

Which of these changes are being opposed?

As soon as the revised framework was announced, stakeholders have opposed the new distance restriction which prohibits parents from selecting a school outside of 1 kilometre radius from their residence. According to parents this significantly reduces their options of schools to select from. Whereas some others complained that in certain areas there may not be a private unaided school accepting RTE admissions within one kilometre radius from their registered residence. Under the earlier practice, preference was given to schools located within a one-kilometre radius for seat allotment. However, parents were still allowed to select schools within three kilometres or even beyond. Seats in those schools were allotted only if there was no school within a one-kilometre radius or if all seats in nearby schools had already been filled.

There has been no opposition to the other two new rules. In fact, parents have welcomed these measures, saying they help eliminate confusion in the RTE admission process, including delays and instances where schools cancel admissions at the last moment citing documentation issues.

Why did Maharashtra revise RTE admission rules?

The revised framework is the outcome of the recommendations by a committee constituted in January 2025 to suggest improvements to the RTE admissions process in the state. Officials from the school education department explained that the one km restriction is brought to ensure that children are admitted to nearby schools.

According to officials, even in older practice preference was given to schools located within a one-kilometre radius for seat allotment. But at the time of admissions, schools would deny stating the official residence of the applicant is of faraway location. “This is also the reason to introduce the rule of uploading all necessary documents at the time of application. Apart from challenging the distance from residence, schools would deny admission citing documentation issues. All this confusion is eliminated in the revised structure,” said a senior official.

Furthermore, the strict timeline for RTE admissions according to officials will end delays in the process which parents often complained about.

The committee, according to officials, also considered public feedback to make recommendations for the revised process.

Why has it sparked a wider discussion on Maharashtra’s RTE rules?

This is not the first time that Maharashtra’s RTE rules are challenged in the court of law. In the year 2024, the state government has already faced a major setback when the Bombay High Court had quashed its notification that exempted private schools within a one-kilometre radius of government or aided schools from following.

Maharashtra’s school education department then had amended the rules of RTE admissions by issuing a notification that stated private schools with government or aided schools within a one-kilometre radius of them were not obligated to give RTE admissions. Following major uproar against the new rule, it was challenged in the court of law by parents. The High Court had ruled in favour of the parents, instructing the Maharashtra government to resume RTE admissions in their original format, wherein 25 percent of total seats are reserved in private unaided schools for children from underprivileged sections of society.

This entire process had significantly delayed the RTE admissions process for the academic year 2024-25 by dragging its beginning up to July, when most schools have already resumed academics. As a result, very few students were able to take admission under the RTE leaving a significant number of RTE seats vacant in private unaided schools.

With the latest revision to the process now being challenged in court, similar concerns about delays in the admission cycle have resurfaced. Experts have also questioned the state government’s repeated run-ins with controversies surrounding RTE admissions.

According to some experts, the growing backlog of reimbursements that the government owes private unaided schools for admitting RTE students has led to repeated changes in the admission rules, raising suspicions that the state may be attempting to reduce the number of admissions under the RTE quota. Associations representing such schools claim that pending reimbursements have cumulatively crossed ₹2,000 crore.