The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has instructed the Director of Primary Education to complete the Right to Education (RTE) admission process for the 2025–26 academic year by May 2025. This directive follows previous delays that resulted in 11,000 unfilled seats in 2023–24 and 26,000 vacant seats in 2024–25, thereby depriving thousands of children of their right to free education.
Nitin Dalvi, President of the Maharashtra Students, Parents, and Teachers Federation, has alleged negligence on the part of the education department in implementing the mandated 25% free seats in private schools for underprivileged students, as per the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. He warned that if the process is not completed by the stipulated deadline, leading to further vacant seats, a petition will be filed against the Director of Primary Education, the Principal Secretary of the School Education Department, and the Education Commissioner.
In the 2023–24 academic year, the RTE admission process concluded in August 2023, two months after schools had commenced, resulting in only 82,879 admissions out of 94,700 available seats. Dalvi noted that many low-income parents, uncertain about securing free admission, enrol their children in private schools by June, incurring long-term financial burdens despite being eligible for free education. This defeats the purpose of the RTE Act and exacerbates economic hardship for disadvantaged families.
To avert a recurrence in 2024–25, Dalvi lodged a complaint with the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and discussed the matter with its Chairperson, Sushiben Shah. In response, the Commission instructed the Director of Education in Pune to submit a report on the vacant seats and outline measures to prevent such issues in the future.
For the 2025–26 academic year, 230,000 applications have been received for 109,000 available seats. The Commission’s intervention aims to ensure timely admissions and prevent further lapses, safeguarding the educational rights of eligible children.
