Children from economically weaker and disadvantaged families in Chhattisgarh will be eligible for vacant seats under the Right to Education (RTE) quota in private schools even if they live beyond the prescribed neighbourhood limits, following a change in the state's admission guidelines.
The School Education Department issued the revised instructions making neighbourhood distance a criterion for admission priority rather than a mandatory eligibility condition. The change is intended to prevent seats reserved for disadvantaged children from remaining vacant because of an insufficient number of applicants living within the prescribed radius.
Under the revised arrangement, children living within one kilometre of a school will receive first priority for admission to Classes I to V. For Classes VI to VIII, priority will be given to eligible applicants residing within three kilometres of the school.
If seats remain vacant after considering applications from within these limits, schools can admit eligible children living farther away to fill the remaining quota. Schools will no longer need to obtain separate approval from the competent authority for each such admission.
The department has also provided for lottery-based selection when the number of eligible applicants exceeds the available seats. The detailed selection process will follow the state's admission guidelines.
The instructions have been issued by Kamalpreet Singh, Secretary of the Chhattisgarh School Education Department, to all district collectors and district education officers for implementation across the state.
The revised policy follows instances in which private schools were unable to fill their reserved seats because there were not enough eligible applicants within the designated neighbourhood. Under the earlier procedure, children living beyond the prescribed distance could not be considered without separate approval from the competent authority.
The department has also directed officials to simplify and streamline the reimbursement process for private schools admitting children under the RTE quota. Under Section 12(2) of the Act, the government reimburses eligible private schools for the expenditure incurred in providing free education to children admitted under the 25 per cent provision.
The changes follow suggestions from the Union Ministry of Education and directions from the Supreme Court concerning the implementation of RTE admissions for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections.
Section 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, requires specified unaided and non-minority private schools to reserve at least 25 per cent of entry-level seats for children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups. The provision is intended to improve access to private school education for children who may otherwise be unable to afford it.
Chhattisgarh has extended the benefit of the scheme up to Class 12 through a state-level amendment introduced in 2019. According to the state's RTE portal, approximately 2.9 lakh students have benefited from the scheme so far.
The portal also provides information on registered private schools, available seats, student applications and admission status. The department's latest instructions are expected to widen the pool of eligible applicants considered when reserved seats remain vacant.
District collectors and education officers will oversee the implementation of the revised procedure across the state.