MUMBAI: Forty days after city schools have begun their new academic year (2018-19), only 45 per cent of students from marginalised sections who are eligible for 25 per cent admissions in private schools under the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009, are attending classes.
According to the civic education department, only 45 per cent students have confirmed their seats till now. There is no word yet on when the admission process under the RTE quota will be complete even as civic officials say the process is lagging behind as there are not enough students seeking the allotted seats.
A senior official of the department said, “Even after the second lottery round, very few students showed interest in securing admissions. We will not be able to proceed till the minimum required seats are filled.”
As per the schedule, parents had time till June 30 to complete the admission process but out of the 2,382 allotted seats, only 737 have been confirmed.
“Maybe they are not happy with the allotted seats, which is why they are not taking admission and waiting for other schools through further rounds,” the official added.
Technically, the admission process under RTE should be completed by April 30. But every year, this kind of lag is experienced. Last year (2017-18), the RTE admission process went on till January.
Meanwhile, parents feel they are not getting schools according their preference. Prasoon Thakur, a parent, said, “The school I got is not very nice and is far from our home, which is why we did not take admission after the first lottery. But even in the second lottery, we did not get a satisfactory school.”
