Pune: Even after multiple deadline extensions, 26,870 seats remain unfilled in private schools across Maharashtra under the 25% quota mandated by the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
The admission process appears to have paused following the release of the fourth waiting list, with no signs of the fifth list yet, leaving parents anxious over the uncertainty surrounding their children’s admission.
The RTE Act reserves 25% of seats in private schools for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections of society.
This year, the Primary Education Department initiated the centralized online admission process for the reserved seats in 9,217 schools, offering a total of 105,238 seats statewide.
The process attracted 242,516 applications, and through an online lottery system, 93,009 students were offered placements, leaving thousands awaiting placement despite ongoing vacancies.
Once the primary admissions conclude, students on waiting lists become eligible for vacant spots in the following rounds.
However, despite the four rounds of waiting lists released thus far, the process has stalled, with parents expressing disappointment at the lack of any new notifications. Many children have yet to be placed, with 26,870 seats still available across the state.
The largest unfilled seats remain in districts with high demand, including Pune, Nagpur, and Thane.
In Pune alone, 970 schools offered 17,588 seats, of which only 13,657 have been confirmed. Similar shortfalls are evident across other districts like Nagpur, where 5,395 out of 6,920 seats were filled, and Nashik, with 4,095 admissions out of 5,271 seats.
RTE Admission Statistics by Major Districts:
Nagpur: 655 schools; 6,920 seats available; 5,395 seats filled
Nashik: 428 schools; 5,271 seats available; 4,095 seats filled
Pune: 970 schools; 17,588 seats available; 13,657 seats filled
Thane: 643 schools; 11,339 seats available; 7,587 seats filled
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: 574 schools; 4,451 seats available; 3,459 seats filled
Parents awaiting confirmation are calling for a prompt release of the fifth list to ensure no child is left without an education due to administrative delays. In addition, many are pressing the Primary Education Department for timely notifications and clearer guidance on the remaining vacant seats.