Nearly half of the seats reserved under the Right to Education (RTE) Act in Gujarat’s private schools have been filled after the state government raised the income limit for eligibility. The income cap was increased from ₹1.2–1.5 lakh to ₹6 lakh, allowing more families to apply.
Out of 2,38,916 total applications received for 93,527 seats, 45,993 applications came in after the income limit was revised. Officials say this is the highest number of applications received for RTE seats so far.
Minister of State for Education, Praful Pansheriya, said the decision was made because many genuine beneficiaries were missing out on the scheme. “Many people managed to get income certificates even if they were not eligible, which left deserving children out. Also, all other government schemes already follow the ₹6 lakh income limit — this was the only one with a lower cap,” he explained.
On March 15, Education Minister Praful Pansheriya announced that the annual income limit for admissions under the RTE Act for the 2025–26 academic year would be raised from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹6 lakh. The revised limit applies to both rural and urban families.
Since the RTE Act’s 25% reservation rule began in Gujarat in 2013-14, the income limit was ₹1.5 lakh in cities and ₹1.2 lakh in rural areas. For 2025–26, the state has extended the application deadline from March 16 to April 15, allowing parents earning up to ₹6 lakh annually to apply. A total of 93,527 seats are available across 33 districts and 7 cities, with the highest numbers in Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Surat rural.
“It is worth mentioning that eligible children, who have completed six years on June 1, 2025, have the opportunity to apply online on the RTE portal till April 15. In addition, applicants from other categories and those who could not apply earlier as well as applicants whose applications were rejected at the district level due to income higher than the specified income (but less than Rs 6 lakh) this year will also be able to apply online again. They will be able to apply during this period. The process of approving or rejecting the application after verifying the income limit and other necessary documents of all applicants at the district level will have to be completed by April 16 (Wednesday)” the announcement stated.
In the 2024–25 academic year, nearly 40,000 students in Gujarat secured admission to private schools under the RTE Act. A total of 45,000 seats were available in self-financed schools across the state, with around 2.35 lakh applications received for these seats reserved for children from economically weaker sections (EWS), as mandated by the Act’s 25% reservation rule.