Only 88,000 admissions confirmed under RTE against 95,000 claimed by Gujarat govt

The centralised online admission process under the Right to Education Act (RTE) for free admission into Class 1 has concluded. According to the state government, 95,000 children have been enrolled this year. However, by the end of the three rounds of admission, only around 88,000 admissions were confirmed. 

Notably, the government has not disclosed how many of the 2,231 children allocated schools in the third round actually confirmed their admissions. Irregularities have surfaced in both the number of seats and confirmed admissions under RTE. 

Initially, during the launch of the process, the government announced that 9741 schools had a total of 93,860 seats, but by the third round, the announced seat count had increased to 94,798.

Under the Central Government’s 2009 Right to Education Act, the Gujarat Government began implementing RTE in 2013, initiating an admission process for children in private schools across the state. 

According to government data, over the last 12 years, admissions under RTE have grown from 432 in the first year to 95,000 this year. The RTE admission process for the current academic year is now complete. 

Information shared by the state education department at each stage of the process revealed that when the process began, 97,41 private schools had a combined 25% reservation amounting to 93,860 seats. However, by the third round, the data publicly released stated that 94,798 seats were available.

In 2025, the state government increased the income eligibility limit from ₹1.20 lakh–₹1.50 lakh to ₹6 lakh, which led to an influx of around 40,000 additional applications. This year, a total of 2,38,916 online applications were received. 

Of these, 1,75,685 applications were approved, 13,761 were rejected, and 49,470 were canceled due to duplication and other issues. Thus, out of 1,75,685 eligible applications, 86,274 children were allocated schools in the first round, 7,006 in the second round, and 2,231 in the third round—making a total of 95,511 allocations.

Since many parents did not confirm admissions due to unpreferred schools being allocated, only 85,774 admissions were confirmed by the end of the second round. Even if we add the 2,231 third-round allocations, the total confirmed admissions reach just about 88,000. However, the government claims that 95,494 children were admitted in the school.

According to the government, enrollment means confirmed admission—i.e., parents visited the schools in person and completed admission formalities. During the third-round allocation, the government had declared 6,965 seats vacant, but after the round concluded, the exact number of final admissions and remaining vacant seats has not been disclosed.

As per government data, students admitted under RTE receive an annual direct benefit transfer (DBT) of ₹3,000 each for uniforms, school bags, and other materials. 

So far, more than 6 lakh students have received ₹1,057 crore in total assistance. Between 2023 and 2024, a total grant of ₹3,723 crore was disbursed to schools—₹2,665 crore toward fee reimbursement and ₹1,057 crore toward student assistance. In 2024, the number of available seats was the lowest in years—just 45,000—and even fewer admissions were confirmed.