From among the 10,429 students across Thane district selected through the RTE process, only 6,615 have completed the admission process.
Nearly 3,800 children are yet to complete the admission process and submit the documents. From the selected students, 24 did not have proper documents during the verification process, hence their admissions have been rejected. These children are mostly from Kalyan and Ambernath.
From the selected students, Thane and Navi Mumbai municipal limits have the highest number of admissions at 1,693 and 1,510, respectively. Followed by Kalyan Dombivli and Ambernath areas, other areas comprise a rural population and not everyone is aware of the complete RTE process.
“This year, we were not able to conduct enough awareness campaigns like earlier. The same happened last year as well due to the pandemic. Hence, many continue to prefer the civic or Zilla Parishad schools. We are still trying to reach out to the parents and asking them to seek admissions at the earliest or we will give it to those on the waiting list,” said an officer from the education department, Thane Zilla Parishad. There are around 500 children on the waiting list currently.
Bhausaheb Karekar, Primary Education Officer, Thane Zilla Parishad, said, “Although the students seeking admissions are fewer in the final list, the overall students coming forward for the RTE process is increasing.”
The application process began in the last week of February for Thane district. Every selected student has received an allotment letter, which needed to be submitted along with the necessary documents at the nearest verification centre by May 10.
This year, 648 schools were eligible for the RTE admission process. These included civic and Zilla Parishad schools across the district. For Class 1, there are 11,469 seats and 798 seats in the pre-primary section are available. These children have been selected from the 25,000 applicants that were received across the district.