Gujarat : 7K Children get RTE Admissions in 2nd round

Gandhinagar, Gujarat – In a significant push towards inclusive education, 7,006 children from weaker and disadvantaged sections have been allotted seats in unaided private primary schools across Gujarat under the second round of admissions conducted as per the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The allotment follows a state-wide process to ensure that 25% of seats in Standard 1 are reserved for children from underprivileged backgrounds.

These newly admitted students are required to report to their allotted schools in person by Wednesday, May 28, 2025, during school hours, and submit the necessary documentation to confirm their admission, according to a statement from the Office of the Director of Primary Education, Gandhinagar.

Despite the state government’s extensive efforts to improve outreach and awareness among parents, 7,378 RTE seats remain vacant even after this second round of allotments. These include 728 seats in Gujarati medium schools, 4,564 in English medium, 1,920 in Hindi medium, and 166 in other language mediums.

In the academic year 2025-26, a total of 94,798 RTE seats were available in 9,814 unaided private primary schools across Gujarat. During the first round of admissions, held earlier this year, 86,264 students were allotted seats based on school availability within a 6 km radius and applicants’ preferences. Of these, 80,453 students successfully enrolled after physically verifying their documents within the given time frame.

Following the first round, 14,345 seats remained vacant. To address this gap and give another opportunity to those left out, the government allowed 89,445 valid applicants—who had not been allotted seats in the first round—to either reselect their school preferences or retain their original choices from May 15 to May 17, 2025.

As a result, 45,695 applicants updated their preferences, while 43,750 opted to keep their previously chosen schools. The current round of allotment is based on this revised preference data.

The Gujarat government’s efforts under the RTE Act have been instrumental in bridging educational inequality by providing access to quality private education for children from economically weaker and socially disadvantaged groups. This year’s campaign saw enhanced parental awareness, contributing to an increased number of confirmed admissions during the first round itself.

However, the persistent number of vacant seats—especially in English medium schools—highlights the challenges in aligning parental preferences with seat availability. Experts believe that further sensitization, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, and addressing language-specific gaps, will be crucial to ensuring the full potential of the RTE mandate is realized.

The state government is expected to review the vacancy situation and may consider a third round or policy revision to ensure that every eligible child gets the right to quality education without barriers of language, geography, or socio-economic status.