Maharashtra: State education department seeks clarity on Maratha reservation in RTE

There’s still confusion about how Maratha reservation fits into RTE. Representation pic

The state education department wants to start the Right to Education (RTE) admissions but needs to clear up some confusion about including Maratha reservation. Sharad Gosavi, the director of primary education, said they're asking the state government for guidance on this.

The state school education department, in charge of RTE, has begun the admission process by registering schools. Gosavi said, "We're asking the state government for help with including Maratha reservation in the RTE process. We're reaching out to get official clarification on this."

An official from the education department said, "Because of recent changes to the RTE Act, over 90 thousand schools in the state need to register by March 18. After that, they'll start taking student admission applications."

Many parents eagerly wait for RTE admission every year. Around 80 to 90 thousand students get RTE admission annually. But this year, the state government made some changes to the act.

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The new changes mean most private unaided schools don't have to set aside 25 per cent of their seats for economically weaker students anymore. If there's a government or aided school nearby, students can't get RTE admission to private unaided schools.

But despite this, there's still confusion about how Maratha reservation fits into RTE. The education department started the RTE admission process for the 2024-25 school year, although it's running late. It might take three to four months to finish the admission process due to school registrations and online admissions.

Gosavi said, "The primary education department started school registrations according to government orders. Student registrations will start after schools finish registering. Parents should get their RTE admission documents ready early to avoid problems. We've also asked the government for help with Maratha community reservation for RTE admission."

90K
No. of schools that need to register before March 18