RTE admissions Round 1: 1,827 underprivileged children secure seats

The admissions given on Saturday were part of the first round of RTE admissions, issued through a lottery annually

After admitting 1,827 children from economically weaker sections in private schools on Saturday, two more lottery rounds will held on April 18 and 19 to fill the 25% quota under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. This year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) received 37,646 applications from 10,628 applicants.

To be eligible to secure admissions in the first round, a student must live within 1-kilometer of the school s/he has applied to. (Pic for representation)

The admissions given on Saturday were part of the first round of RTE admissions, issued through a lottery annually. This year, 8,374 seats have been reserved in 347 private schools across Mumbai under the RTE quota. Seats have been reserved at all state board, ICSE, CBSE, and international board schools.

In the first round, BMC shortlisted 3,239 applications and admitted 1,827 children. While 1,183 await verification, 229 applicants are yet to approach the civic body.

Mahesh Palkar, BMC education officer, said, “Applications are shortlisted based on income certificate submitted by parents, which is used to assess their economic background, age of the student, distance of the school from the student’s house, etc. Once parents submit documents and the student is selected, we physically verify the residence, which takes time.”

To be eligible to secure admissions in the first round, a student must live within 1-kilometer of the school s/he has applied to. In the second round, the radius is increased to between 1 and 3 kilometers. For the third round, the student may or may not live within 3 kilometers of the school.

Palkar said most parents apply at more than three schools using a single application form. If multiple applications are made, then all of them get rejected. So far, the BMC has rejected 78 applications.

“Parents tend to submit fake address proofs to show that they reside within a kilometer of the school. Applications are rejected if physical verification proves that the address submitted is incorrect.”

BOX

8,374: Seats reserved at 347 schools under RTE quote

37,646: Applications received

10,628: Applicants

3,239: Application selected in first round

1,827: Students admitted

1,183: Applications pending verification

78: Applications rejected