RTE admissions: English medium schools have highest number of vacant seats
Ahmedabad: An analysis of the data of admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) shows that English medium schools had the highest number of vacant seats this year.
This was the result of parents' preference for specific English medium institutions, coupled with the 6 km radius restriction, said experts.
The third round of RTE admissions revealed 6,946 unfilled seats out of the total 94,798 seats, with 4,238 in English medium schools, predominantly in urban areas.
The first two phases saw the allocation of seats to 93,270 students, with 85,744 confirming their admission within the deadline. Besides English medium, 624 seats in Gujarati medium, 1,919 in Hindi medium, and 165 in other mediums remained vacant after the third round of RTE admissions.
According to Ahmedabad city district education officer (DEO) Rohit Chaudhary, parents prefer certain schools for English medium education. Gujarat State School Management Board president Bhaskar Patel stated that this trend was also observed due to the increasing demand for English medium education, but with a focus on select institutions. Parents consistently avoid certain schools, resulting in vacancies.
During the third round of RTE admissions, seats were allocated to 2,231 additional children in Class 1 at private schools. At the end of the second round, 9,157 seats remained vacant, with over 31,000 applicants choosing new schools while 51,000 continued with their initial preferences.
After the third round allocation on Friday last, 6,946 seats remained unfilled. Students must confirm their admission by June 13. The education department aims to accommodate 25% of children from disadvantaged backgrounds in private primary schools under RTE. For 2025-26, 9,814 unaided primary schools offered 94,798 seats across various medium.
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