New Delhi / Hyderabad, Oct 21 (Maxim News) : The Supreme Court has turned its attention to the implementation of the Right to Education Act’s 25 percent free seat quota for poor children in private schools in Telangana, after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights sought a response from the state government over slow progress.
Only 180 students received admissions under the scheme across the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years combined, according to education department sources.
Under Section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act, all private schools must reserve at least 25 percent of seats in Class 1 for children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, free of cost.
The Supreme Court has also directed states to establish dedicated online portals, lottery-based admission processes and grievance redressal systems to ensure transparency.
While states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Tamil Nadu have made significant progress in implementing the provision, Telangana has lagged behind.
A petition was filed in the Telangana High Court earlier on the issue, following which the education department committed to implementing the law.
In July 2025, orders were issued to admit children from 96 habitations lacking government schools into private schools. However, field-level implementation did not produce the expected results, according to critics.
Supreme Court Hearing on October 27 Puts Pressure on Telangana to Scale Up RTE Admissions
NCPCR sought an explanation from the Telangana government after reviewing the poor implementation data. Director of School Education Naveen Nicolas reportedly travelled to Delhi and gave assurances on the steps being taken.
The Supreme Court has directed NCPCR to appear before it on October 27 and submit a report on the state of implementation across states.
Following the Supreme Court’s attention on the matter, education officials have been pushed to act.
The state now needs to set up a dedicated portal for eligible children, establish a transparent seat allocation system and put in place a functional grievance redressal mechanism.
However, an official announcement on the new admissions schedule, application dates and eligibility criteria is still awaited. (Maxim News)
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