Regular students can use vacant RTE quota seats, Bombay High Court tells Maharashtra government

The Bombay high court on Friday suggested that the state government can assign seats left vacant under the Right To Education (RTE) Act quota to students from the open category.

Thousands of seats vacant
The RTE quota allows reservation of 25 per cent seats in schools for children belonging to poor families. Around 96,000 seats were made available across the state under this quota. The state told the court that despite proper advertising and raising awareness, around 53,000 of these seats remained vacant.
A division bench of Justice Anoop Mohta and Justice F M Reis then suggested that the seats could be utilised by non-RTE quota students. "What is the point of keeping seats vacant? Why can't other children of the locality join? Infrastructure is available then why cannot it be used by others?" asked the bench.

The government's stand
Additional government pleader Geeta Shastri said, "The seats are kept vacant as per rules and to ensure that it is not being misused. However, if the court suggests that it can be filled up by other students then we can consider it."
The court responded saying, "We accept that your motive is good. But every year the policy has to be revisited." It added that if this is done, it would also ease some pressure on the schools' managements.

Relief for kids denied admission under RTE quota
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Anudanit Shiksha Bachao Samiti, an NGO, on behalf of parents whose children haven't yet got admission under the RTE Act. Advocate Anil Sakhare, appearing for the BMC, said "If any parent has any grievance on improper implementation of the Act, then there is a state child welfare commission where they can lodge a complaint."