Nearly 1 lakh students secure RTE admission in UP this year

Nearly one lakh children from underprivileged sections of the society this year secured admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, in 12,563 unaided private schools across UP where they will receive free and quality education from the beginning up to class 8

Nearly one lakh children from underprivileged sections of the society this year secured admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, in 12,563 unaided private schools across UP where they will receive free and quality education from the beginning up to class 8. The increase in the number of admissions assumes importance as it has come amid the Covid pandemic.

A record 2.55 lakh applications were received for admissions under RTE this year (HT File Photo)

The admissions were for kids in 3-6 age group (less than 7 as on April 1, 2021) in pre-primary to class 1. Under the RTE policy, 25 per cent seats in these schools are reserved for economically weaker sections. A record 2.55 lakh applications were received for admissions under RTE this year. The admission process opened on March 2 and ended on July 15, 2021.

More than 1.53 lakh applications were verified and eventually 99,146 children were allotted seats in various private schools. This is the best conversion rate so far in the state since 2017 when the RTE lottery system shifted online. The selection is based on the lottery system set up by the state government.

While Lucknow topped the list with 12,770 children securing admissions under RTE, Varanasi stood second with 8,655 children getting admission and Kanpur Nagar was third with 6,078 admissions. In Aligarh, 4,864 students secured admission and in Moradabad 4,202 students got admission.

“It was my dream to enrol my six-year-old son Aaroh in a good school. However, it was just a dream as I had no means to turn it into a reality. My dream came true recently when my son secured admission in a reputed school in Lucknow under Right to Education [RTE 12.1.(c)] policy in this year’s (2021) lottery,” said Ankit Singh, 26, a gardener and earns ₹4,000-5,000 per month.

Singh, who hails from Sitapur district, moved to Lucknow three years back so that his children could study in a good school. However, the pandemic and corona-induced lockdown derailed his plans.

“I wasn’t getting regular work. I exhausted my savings but I did not return to my village. I stayed back in Lucknow so that both my children could get good education. I am happy that my son is getting a chance to study in a good school. He is too young to understand the importance of good education, but I will provide him with all the facilities. I even bought a smartphone for him so that he could attend his online classes,” said Singh.

This year, six-year-old Antara’s Singh life changed forever. She lost both her parents to Covid within a week. For a few days, Antara and her elder brother lived with their landlord in Kanpur and later moved with a local guardian. In April, Aditya Pandey, an office assistant, who looks after RTE lottery and allotments in Kanpur, and a few others from the department, enrolled Antara’s name for RTE 12.1.(c) lottery.

Early this week, Antara secured admission in a reputed school in Kanpur. She received her admission letter from UP minister of state for higher education Neelima Katiyar in the presence of district education officer Pawan Kumar Tiwari.

Like Antara and Aaroh, all other students who got admission come from most underprivileged section and RTE 12.1 (C) will provide them with free and quality education in private schools across the state.

Commenting on the increasing number of students from humble backgrounds getting admission under RTE, director general, school education, Anamika Singh said, “With a robust online RTE portal incorporating end-to-end process integration and widespread awareness campaign in 2021, we could receive a large number of applications from diverse geographies resulting in record 1 lakh lottery allocations.”

“The state is now committed to ensuring these admissions in schools as we gear up towards opening of schools post Covid. We are also encouraging private schools to register themselves on RTE portal in order to receive timely reimbursements. This would be mandated under SSSA (State School Standards Authority) of NEP 2020,” she said.

Lalita Pradeep, additional director, basic education said, “It is fascinating to see that now guardians are more aware and some social organisations have contributed a lot to instil the spirit of the RTE Act into system.”

Samina Bano, founder and CEO, RightWalk Foundation, which was instrumental in implementing the RTE policy in the state, said: “We request all the private schools in the state to register on RTE portal for smooth functioning of the process and it will also make data collection easier.” In 2019, 59,692 children had secured admissions while in 2020, 87,728 children had got admission despite Covid.

Top five districts

Lucknow (12,770), Varanasi (8,655), Kanpur Nagar (6,078), Aligarh (4,864), Moradabad (4,202)

Upgrade of RTE portal

As the number of allotments has gone up, to keep up with the pace, the RTE portal has undergone key changes since its inception. Earlier, the portal had features like director, admin, BSA, application, lottery and report module.