RTE admissions: 114,000 apply for 7,202 seats in civic schools

Over 14,000 students have applied for 7,202 seats in schools reserved under the 25% Right to Education (RTE) quota for 2020-21. The application deadline ended on

Over 14,000 students have applied for 7,202 seats in schools reserved under the 25% Right to Education (RTE) quota for 2020-21. The application deadline ended on Wednesday.

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The education department under Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is the implementing agency, under the centralised admission process under RTE will conduct a lottery to allot seats on March 12. This year, the education department has decided to conduct a single lottery for all the admissions.

This year, the number of applications has seen a significant rise as compared to 2019 when there were only 11,584 applications.

Despite the high number of applications every year, several seats under the RTE quota lie vacant. In 2019, over 80,000 seats in the state, including 4,000 in the city, lay vacant even after four admission rounds. Though the numbers of applicants are more than the seats, very few translate into actual admissions. Two primary reasons for this are the inability of parents to submit documents on time or demand for only a select few schools.

The education department’s mobile application has got a very poor response, as only five applications have been made through the app in Mumbai.

“Many parents want to register in person, as they often do not want to rely on online submission. We are trying to create more awareness about the app,” said an official.