Admissions based on student’s address

Mumbai: The state education department has changed the admission process under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 for the academic year 2018-19. This year, the three rounds of lottery for admissions will be based on where the student resides. According to the new rules, once a student’s name is listed in any of the rounds, it will be compulsory to secure admission or else the student will be left without a seat. 

“Parents usually procrastinate in the hope that the next round of lottery will provide them with a better school option. But, this kind of behaviour will only lead to the student being left without any seat, which happened last year. This time, if a name is listed, securing the seat in the given deadline is advised. If not, there is no process for the child further,” said Mr Santosh Gaikwad, an official who looks after the RTE section at the state education department. 

 The three rounds of lottery will be based on where the student resides. The first round will allot students to private unaided schools within a radius of one kilometre from their residence. In the second round, the radius will be from one kilometre to three kilometres while in the third round the radius will be extended beyond three kilometres. 

So far, 26,561 students have successfully secured admissions in the first round. Last year, the department and the Brihnanmumbai Municipal Corporation conducted eight rounds, but this year education department officials predict that they will not pass more than four rounds. 

The RTE Act mandates that every child from the age of six to fourteen, who belongs to a weaker or disadvantaged section, will be given free and compulsory education in the neighbourhood private unaided primary schools, according to the Supreme Court judgement of April 12, 2012.