The basic education department has allotted 1.09 lakh seats to children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections in private schools for the 2026-27 academic session under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, against over 2.61 lakh applications received. The allotments were made after scrutiny of documents submitted by parents, officials said.
Lucknow recorded the highest response, receiving 18,107 applications, against which 12,097 seats were allotted. In Varanasi, 7,140 seats were allotted against 17,476 applications, while Kanpur Nagar saw 7,128 allotments against 13,546 applications. Agra had 4,989 seats allotted against 13,627 applications, and Aligarh 4,172 seats against 8,567 applications.
Applications for the second phase under the RTE 12(1)(c) opened on February 21. District authorities have been asked to widely publicise the process and encourage more families to apply. Verification of applications will also be carried out daily, an official associated with the admission process said.
The department received 2,61,501 applications this year, as compared to 1,32,446 at the end of the first round last year.
According to state government data, this year the basic education department received 2,61,501 applications compared to last year’s 1,32,446 applications at the end of round one of the admission process as per the data made available by the state government.
Officials attributed the sharp rise to simplification of the application process. Last year, more than 1.06 lakh children from poor and deprived families were enrolled in private schools under the RTE Act against a total allotment of 1.85 lakh seats.
This step has strengthened inclusiveness in the field of education and has given wings to the dreams of thousands of poor families, an official said.
Under revised rules, children seeking admission under RTE will no longer be required to submit their own Aadhaar cards or those of both parents. The Aadhaar card of any one parent is now sufficient for the online application, which officials said reduced procedural hurdles and encouraged more families to apply.
