Secure RTE seats at earliest: Education dept

Mumbai: A week after announcing the results of the first lottery for admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the Brihanmumbai Muni-cipal Corporation (BMC) education department has asked all the parents to secure the seats that they have been allotted instead of opting for famous schools only.

This year, a total 8,341 seats are available in 347 private unaided schools in Mumbai. With the completion of the first round, about 3,239 students have been allotted seats. 

Under the RTE Act, 2009, the students reserved for the marginalised category or socially backward section are provided a chance to get their elementary education (class 1-8) free-of-cost. Twenty-five per cent of seats are reserved for these students in private unaided schools. All costs will be managed by the state government. This year, there are around 10,505 applicants who have applied for admission under the RTE Act.

The civic education department has asked all applicants and their parents to secure admission as allotted through the lottery.

A senior official of the department said, “The parents tend to sideline the seats initially allotted, in the hope that they will get better schools in upcoming rounds. Due to this, many of the students are left without any seats as was the case till last year. 

Hence, this year, we advised all the parents (through special seminars) to take admission as soon as possible instead of simply waiting,” said a senior official of the department.