RTE 25% free seats in private schools

A legal right to a free seat at a private school, decided by computerised lottery, for children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.

State education departments, under the Right to Education Act 2009 · India

Reported schedule, not yet confirmed

These dates appear consistently across unofficial trackers. We have not confirmed them against the official portal, so we show them as reported and run no countdown on them. Treat them as a reason to check the portal today, not as a deadline to rely on.

• Uttar Pradesh ran 2026-27 in three phases between 2 February and 25 March 2026
• Karnataka ran 16 March to 15 April 2026
• Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan ran their own windows in the same months
• Next cycle expected around January to February 2027, state by state

Why this one matters

This is the largest unclaimed entitlement in Indian school education. Every private unaided school must hold a quarter of its entry-level seats, the child pays nothing until Class 8, and the state pays the school. Seats go unfilled every year in most states, not because families are ineligible but because they never heard of it or were rejected on a document mismatch.

What it covers

tuition, free education to class 8. Levels funded: higher secondary.

Who can apply

• You must be a citizen of India
• Limited to these categories: SC, ST, OBC, EBC, Minority, Disabled, General
  Covers both disadvantaged groups by category and economically weaker sections by income, plus orphans and children with disabilities. Which of these applies to you decides your priority in the lottery.

Where applications fail

Most rejected applications are not ineligible students. They are eligible students who missed a step.

• Seats are mapped to your neighbourhood, defined as your revenue village in rural areas or your municipal ward in urban ones. Applications outside the boundary are filtered out automatically before the lottery, so choosing a well-known school across the city wastes the application.
• The address on your Aadhaar or state family identity record must match the address you apply from. A mismatch is one of the commonest reasons an eligible child is rejected.
• Income and caste certificates must carry valid RD or reference numbers where the state requires them. The portal verifies these automatically and rejects without human review.
• Minority institutions are outside this quota, and schools with a court stay may also be excluded. A school you can see may simply not be in the scheme.
• Selection is by lottery, not by merit or by applying early. Applying on the first day gives no advantage beyond not missing the window.
• Being selected is not being admitted. You must report to the allotted school before its deadline, and families lose confirmed seats by missing that step.

If this one is not for you

Being ruled out of a scheme is not the same as having no options. Here is what is still open.

• Missed this year's window? The next cycle is expected around January or February 2027. Note it now — this is an entry-level quota and the child ages out of it.
• Outside the neighbourhood boundary for the school you wanted? Apply to schools inside your own ward or village, where your application will actually reach the lottery.
• Not selected in the lottery? Several states run second and third rounds against unfilled seats. Check the portal rather than assuming the first result is final.
• Income above the line? Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodayas and state model schools admit on their own rules with no income condition.

Record status: partially_verified. Last checked: 2026-09-13. The statutory right is established by the Right to Education Act. State windows, portals and priority rules differ and the dates above are reported by unofficial trackers rather than confirmed against each state portal, so no countdown runs. Find your own state's RTE portal and confirm its calendar. Source: https://www.education.gov.in/

Check whether you qualify