RTE seats in 174 city, Thane schools vacant
For the academic year 2019-20, 11,584 aspirants applied for 7,491 quota seats, of which, 1,948 students confirmed their admissions.
One hundred and seventy four schools in Mumbai and Thane have not received any applications for admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) quota.
For the academic year 2019-20, 11,584 aspirants applied for 7,491 quota seats, of which, 1,948 students confirmed their admissions. However, of the 356 schools in Mumbai, 44 schools did not get any applications, with the last day for admissions being May 4. In Thane, 15,460 students applied for 13,400 seats across 652 schools, of which 3,451 students secured admissions in the first round. No student has applied to 130 schools in the city.
Education department officials attributed the zero applicant scenario to the concentration of demand for a few popular schools. “Most of these schools teach in the vernacular medium, for which the demand is low. Another reason could also be the distance,” said a senior official from the department.
According to Vaishali Bafna, head, SYSCOM – a Pune-based think tank – like first-year junior college aspirants, students applying under RTE must also get the option of continuing with the admission procedure until they find the school of their choice.