Orissa High Court to Address Alleged Non-Compliance with RTE Act by Private Schools

In Odisha, private schools are mandated to reserve 25% of their seats for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, as per the Right to Education Act. However, concerns have arisen over alleged non-compliance with this provision on the Paradarshi Portal.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Orissa High Court regarding this matter. The petitioner highlighted that while information about 37,000 seats was provided on the portal, there was no clarity on the classes for which admissions were available, contrary to the expected 60,000 seats.

During the hearing, the Odisha Education Department assured the court that they would rectify these errors promptly. The next hearing is scheduled for May 16.

Prasanna Bisoyi, executive president of Odisha Abhibhabak Mahasangha, expressed concern over the discrepancy, stating, "There were as many as 60,000 seats in 4,264 schools. However, it started from 37,000 seats this year. That means 20,000 to 25,000 seats are not available on that portal. As a result, many students suffered and they didn’t get the opportunity to get admission into in the schools as per their choice."

He further mentioned, "The Education Department will inform the Court about the steps taken in this regard on the next date of hearing. The most important thing is that the matter will be pending in the court and not disposed of until the completion of the admission process."