By team abhyaspeeth 
Pune: A total of 452 schools across Pune district have been temporarily disqualified from receiving reimbursement under the Right to Education (RTE) Act due to incomplete or incorrect documentation. The Primary Education Department has issued a notice, granting these institutions a deadline to rectify the discrepancies and become eligible again.
The disqualification has primarily arisen from missing or flawed documentation related to class recognition orders, seat records, incorrect school addresses, and the non-submission of Form No. 2, which pertains to fee collection. Officials have clarified that once these documents are corrected and resubmitted, the schools may regain eligibility for RTE reimbursements.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the list of the 452 affected schools has not been made public. Authorities stated that this decision was made to avoid creating panic or confusion among parents during the ongoing RTE admission process.
At present, RTE admissions are underway in multiple phases. The first round of confirmed admissions has already been completed, and the second waiting list has been released. Of the 9,726 students selected in the second list, only 554 have confirmed their seats so far, while 9,172 are still awaiting confirmation.
The third phase of admissions is currently being conducted from April 8 to April 15.
Sanjay Naikde, Education Officer at the Primary Zilla Parishad in Pune, explained the rationale behind the move: “As per state government directives, schools are required to upload essential documents for participation in the RTE admission process. These include self-recognition and first recognition certificates, and records of fees collected online. Schools that have not complied have been given a chance to address the issues. Only upon correction will they be considered for reimbursement.”
There is concern, however, that if schools fail to rectify the errors within the stipulated time, it could jeopardize fee reimbursements and potentially impact the students already enrolled under the RTE scheme.