Starting today, April 16, school admissions for students from economically disadvantaged and weaker groups under the Right to Education (RTE) Act will begin in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra had recently made significant changes to its school admissions process. After the changes, the state's Right to Education (RTE) Act allows children from economically disadvantaged and weaker-income families to start their school admissions immediately. But parents will be given priority for seats in nearby government and assisted schools. Private, unaided schools will only be considered if no government-supported seats are left.
For admissions, the government has a unified process, which was previously only for private, unaided schools. It has now been expanded to include state-run and aided schools. This change has resulted in a huge increase in the number of available seats. This year, 75,960 schools have more than 9.77 lakh seats. This is a huge jump from last year's 1.02 lakh schools.
This amendment has sparked a debate. The RTE Act mandates that private, unaided schools reserve 25% of their seats at the entry point for children from economically disadvantaged and weaker sectors. These children receive free education, with the government reimbursing the schools for the tuition fees. This rule does not apply to schools managed by linguistic and religious minorities.
Earlier this year, the government amended the state's RTE laws to exempt private unaided schools located within one kilometre of government and aided schools from this 25% reservation. The aim was to reduce the state's reimbursement expenses and support government schools.
Unaided schools in the state have been criticising the government for not paying its outstanding debt of INR 2,400 crore for fee reimbursement. They have reacted positively to this move. However, opposition leaders and activists have criticised it, arguing that it could exacerbate educational disparities in the state and violate the RTE Act.
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