Slow Pace of School Registration for RTE Admissions; Only About 2,500 Schools Registered

Pimpri Chinchwad | The Right to Education (RTE) admission process, which opens doors for free education in English medium schools for students from economically weaker sections and reserved categories, began on December 18. The deadline for registration is December 31. However, with just two days left, only about 2,500 schools have registered, highlighting a sluggish pace in both school and administrative participation in the process.

Under the Right to Education Act, 25% of seats are reserved for students from reserved categories and economically disadvantaged groups in English medium schools. The RTE admission process is carried out online each year, often delayed due to various factors, such as issues with the online system, delays in government approvals, and other complications. Consequently, while the admission process for CBSE schools started in December, RTE admissions have faced repeated delays.

Therefore, although the admission process in CBSE schools starts in the month of December, the RTE admission process does not take time. Finally, this year it has been decided to start the relevant admission process in the month of December.However, it has become clear that the relevant decision is not getting the expected support from English schools.

Primary Education Officer Responsible for School Verification

For the academic year 2025-26, the process for RTE 25% seat reservations began with school registration and verification links available from December 18 to 31. A critical step in the process is school verification, where it is essential to check if the schools being verified are either closed, unauthorized, or relocated. Primary education officers are fully responsible for ensuring that these verifications are conducted carefully.

There is a need to verify that the school is registered under the correct board (e.g., a school registered with the state board should not have selected the central board during registration). The education officers must ensure that all procedures are completed within the given timeline. However, there has been significant neglect from primary education officers in this regard.

Extension of Registration Deadline Likely

Although the registration process started on December 18 with a deadline of December 31, only 2,616 schools have registered so far, and 36,455 seats are available. Given that more than 9,000 schools were expected to register, it has become clear that an extension of the registration deadline will be required. Education department officials must now focus on how to increase registration numbers and ensure that the process is completed effectively