MUMBAI: The state government has reversed its decision to restrict admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) quota in private unaided schools to a 1-km radius, restoring the earlier 3-km eligibility norm. Parents can now apply to any private school within a 3-km radius of their residence.The rollback follows a stay by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on provisions introduced through a government resolution dated February 12, which had reduced the permissible distance from 3 km to 1 km.Under the Right to Education Act, eligible private unaided schools reserve 25% of entry-level seats for children from economically and socially disadvantaged sections, with the government reimbursing the fees.Children of parents whose annual income is less than ₹1 lakh are eligible under the economically weaker section.Mahendra Ganpule, former vice-president of the Maharashtra School Principals Association, said the earlier 1-km restriction had unnecessarily limited the scope of RTE admissions. “The new rule needlessly brought a limitation to the provisions of the RTE admissions and it is good that the high court ruled against them. Parents want to send their children to reputed and the best schools possible and don’t mind travelling to do so,” he said.Under the revised admission system, priority will be granted based on distance. Students residing within 1 km of a school will be considered first, followed by those within a 1–3 km radius, and thereafter applicants from beyond 3 km, subject to availability of seats.So far, around 2,24,000 applications have been received under the RTE quota across the state.In a related move, the government has extended the application deadline for RTE admissions from March 18 to March 25, due to delays in opening the online application portal.
