RTE admissions: More forms than vacancies; seats likely to be decided by lottery

Pune has received over 30,000 applications for 17,596 vacant seats in 966 schools followed by Nagpur, which has received over 13,000 applications.

Over 3 lakh applications were received for over 1.5 lakh RTE seats in Maharashtra last year. (Representational/Express photo)

The application forms for admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) in Maharashtra have already exceeded the number of vacancies, which means admissions are likely to be decided by lotteries.

The admission process for the academic session 2024-25 had begun afresh on May 17. As of May 23 evening, 1,42,505 applications have been submitted for 1,04,687 vacant seats in 9,196 schools. Pune has received over 30,000 applications for 17,596 vacant seats in 966 schools followed by Nagpur, which has received over 13,000 applications.

The earlier round, where private schools were potentially exempted from taking RTE admissions and government and aided schools were included, had seen few applications. Less than 70,000 applications had been received for over 9 lakh vacancies. Because of this, granting seats through lottery was not necessary.

But with the second round of applications, the number of applications has been soaring. The last date of filling the applications is May 31 this year and at this rate the number is expected to cross 3 lakh. Over 3 lakh applications were received for over 1.5 lakh RTE seats in Maharashtra last year.

Students can choose up to 10 schools in the mandated vicinity from their residence and thus stand a chance of getting admitted in one of those. When the number of applications received by a school becomes higher than its total intake of 25% seats, a lottery is conducted to determine which students will be admitted.

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