PUNE: This year, there will be tough competition for admission under the Right To Education RTE ) Act, as more than two lakh students applied for the 1.16 lakh seats available in Maharashtra With Friday the last day to submit applications, state education department officials expect this number to cross 2.5 lakh. The last date of filling forms will be till Friday and officials are expecting that over 2.5 lakh applications would be submitted by parents.Under the Act, private schools must reserve 25% of the seats for children from the economically weaker sections of the society. The application process had started on March 5 across Maharashtra. As per the education department, 9,194 schools across the state, for about 1.16 lakh seats, come under RTE’s ambit.“This time, the competition would be tough for every single vacant seat. The competition in some popular private schools would be greater, but the effort of the department would be to fairly allot seats to the applicants,” Joint director of education Dinkar Temkar, who is overseeing the RTE admissions in the state, said.Pune topped the list of districts on the number of applications, with 45,708 applying for 16,594 seats till Thursday. In contrast, Sindhudurg was among the districts with the least applicants — only 418 had applied for 353 seats. “There would be stiffer competition in the urban areas of the state. This has been the trend since the RTE Act came into force,” Temkar said.This year for the first time, the state education department has had allowed the filling and submission of applications on mobile applications.Alternatively, parents can also fill forms through the RTE portal. As many as 613 had applied through the app, till Thursday, while about 2 lakh applications were submitted on the portal.The officials will verify the documents after Friday, following which lots will be drawn and admissions will be allotted.The Right To Education Act was passed in 2009, making education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14.Under the law, all private schools (except minority institutes) must reserve 25% of their seats for children from the economically weaker sections of the society.These schools will be reimbursed by the respective state government under the public-private partnership model.The Act dictates that no child will be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until the completion of elementary education.Under RTE, schools are are also prohibited from demanding donations or capitation fees, and interviewing the child or parent.

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