State delays schedule, RTE students can’t confirm seats

Even as the state education department has announced the commencement of new academic year from June 15, admissions under the 25% Right to Education (RTE) quota

Even as the state education department has announced the commencement of new academic year from June 15, admissions under the 25% Right to Education (RTE) quota have still not begun across the state, leaving thousands of students in a lurch.

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Several students who have been allotted schools based on the RTE lottery are waiting for the state government to release a schedule following which they can confirm their admission.

A delay in starting the admission process means that the students who have applied for admissions under RTE quota are unable to take part in the online classes of the respective schools.

“My son got allotted to a school through the lottery. We got to know that the school has already started its online classes for the year 2020-21. However since his admission is not yet done, the school is unable to put him on their rolls and he is missing out on online learning,” said the parent of a Class 1 student from Khargar.

An official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s education department who is in-charge of RTE admissions said the government is yet to issue any directive on the matter. “We are waiting for official instructions from the government about admissions. Once a schedule is out, we will start the process,” said the official.

Officials from the state education department did not respond to calls and messages.

This year a total of 14,135 students applied for RTE seats in Mumbai, of whom 5,371 have been allotted schools through online lottery.

More than one lakh students were selected in a lottery for admissions to Senior KG and Class 1 under the quota across the state. While the lottery for admissions was conducted in March this year, admissions have still not started.