Telangana Government Limits RTE Admissions in Private Schools
RTE admissions can be availed only in absence of vacancies in government schools
Hyderabad: In a shift from the blanket enforcement of the Right to Education (RTE) Act’s Section 12(1)(C), the Telangana government has decided to restrict its implementation only to areas where government or local body schools are unavailable or already full.
A government order issued on July 10 by school education director Dr E. Naveen Nicolas said the clause will apply to 50 rural habitations and 46 urban colonies or wards after verifying local school availability.
This section mandates that private unaided non-minority schools reserve 25 per cent of seats at entry-level classes for children from disadvantaged groups and economically weaker sections. Until now, it was enforced at all schools, irrespective of the capacity of nearby government schools.
A clause in the proceedings states: “Section 12(1)(C) shall be operationalised in areas where no government or local body school exists within the neighbourhood limit, or where such schools have no available seats for EWS/DG category students.”
Officials said this move ensures that the state’s public education infrastructure is utilised first.
“There’s no point reimbursing private schools when a nearby government school can serve the child. We must strengthen public education, not bypass it,” said a senior officer from the education department.
The change is expected to reduce the financial burden on the government, which reimburses private schools for every RTE admission. Parents from listed rural and urban areas will continue to benefit, but only where no nearby government school is functional or has seats available.
Private school management associations have welcomed the order, calling it a mature and balanced approach. “This is how public policy should be, logical, targeted, and sustainable. Telangana joins Karnataka in leading with reason, not pressure,” said S Madhusudhan, president of the Telangana Recognised School Managements Association (TRSMA).
He lauded the state for issuing what they termed a “visionary and future-ready directive.”
While the new list covers select habitations and colonies, activists have urged the government to ensure the process of verification is transparent and regularly updated to reflect actual availability of schools.
