RTE school admissions: State’s 1 km rule illegal, will leave over 35,000 seats vacant: AAP
AAP state spokesperson Mukund Kirdat said the move was a “deliberate conspiracy” by the Maharashtra government to curtail admissions under the RTE Act.
Private schools in India are required to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for students from economically weaker sections or disadvantaged groups under the RTE Act. (File photo)
The Maharashtra government’s decision to reduce the eligible distance of schools from 3 km to 1 km from a child’s residential address for admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Actis “illegal” and will leave over 35,000 seats vacant across the state, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged in Pune on February 20.
Addressing a press conference, AAP state spokesperson Mukund Kirdat said the move was a “deliberate conspiracy” by the Maharashtra government to curtail admissions under the RTE Act.
Private schools in India are required to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for students from economically weaker sections or disadvantaged groups under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, known as the RTE Act. The government reimburses private schools for these admissions.
This year, the Maharashtra government declared that students will only be able to select schools within a radius of 1 km from their residential address. This is a reduction from the 3 km radius allowed till last year.
Kirdat said, “This move is affecting parents in rural areas. Many parents do not see any schools available near their homes while filling the application form. This decision at the very last minute has caused problems for many parents who were awaiting the admission process. This is a deliberate conspiracy. In cities, there are big private schools in the suburbs but there are not many poor settlements near them. In the central areas, there are more poor settlements but not many private schools.”
According to data available on the state’s RTE website, 15,706 students out of the total 88,182 admitted in the previous year’s cycle had schools located more than 1 km away from their homes. 20,920 RTE seats remained vacant as a total of 1,09,102 seats in total were up for grabs in that cycle. But considering the 1 km rule an additional 15,706 would be vacant, said Kirdat, leading the total number of vacant seats to over 35,000.
Many problems in RTE admissions
The Maharashtra government has RTE delayed reimbursements to schools for the past many years, with over Rs 2,000 crore of reimbursements pending across the state. According to the RTE Act, the union government is responsible for 60 per cent of the funding for reimbursements to schools and the state government is responsible for the remaining 40 per cent.
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Kirdat raised questions over the pending dues and said, “Why is the Maharashtra government holding back funds despite the fact that this free education scheme gets 60 per cent funding from the central government? This year, Rs 2,200 crores of reimbursement is pending and it will increase to approximately Rs 3,300 crores next year. Therefore, the question arises as to where the state government is diverting the central government’s money. The government does not provide reimbursement funds to schools on time. Due to this, schools are not very interested in the RTE admission process.”
Further In 2024, a controversial decision by the Maharashtra government–to exempt private schools the mandatory 25% RTE reservation if they had a government school within a 1 km radius–was struck down by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. Kirdat said his party was considering legal options against the new rule preventing admissions outside 1 km from the child’s residential address as well.
Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting.
Professional Background
Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune.
Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics.
Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure.
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories:
1. Investigations & Governance
"Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents.
"44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families.
2. Education & Campus Life
Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University.
"Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial.
"Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers.
3. Human Rights & Social Issues
"Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India.
"'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying.
Signature Style
Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty.
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