Record 96,990 Students Get RTE Admissions in Maharashtra; Pune Tops the List

Pune, 7th August 2026: Maharashtra has recorded its highest-ever admissions under the 25% reservation quota of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, with 96,990 children securing seats in private schools after five rounds of the admission process. The figure is nearly 8,000 higher than last year’s admissions, reflecting improved participation despite delays in the admission schedule.

This year, the School Education Department amended the RTE admission rules, restricting applicants to schools located within a one-kilometre radius of their residence. The admission process began under the revised criteria. However, the decision was challenged in court, which struck down the rule and restored the earlier provision allowing students to apply to schools within a three-kilometre radius of their homes.

Following the court’s order, the department had to reopen the application process, resulting in delays to the admission schedule.
A total of 1,14,826 seats were available under the RTE quota across 8,701 private schools in Maharashtra this year. The department received 2,89,286 applications for these seats.

In the first online lottery, 1,05,811 students were allotted seats, of whom 79,863 confirmed their admissions. To fill the remaining vacancies, the department conducted four additional rounds from the waiting list, increasing the total number of confirmed admissions to 96,990.

Pune district recorded the highest number of admissions in the state, with 16,758 students securing seats under the RTE quota.

Last year, around 88,000 students were admitted under the RTE quota, while nearly 21,000 seats remained vacant. This year, the number of vacant seats has reduced to around 17,000, indicating better utilisation of the available seats under the scheme.