Lok Sabha Question No. 2617 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-09
Subject: Admission of Deprived Students in Government Schools
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Gajendra  Singh Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2617 ANSWERED ON 09/03/2026

## Admission of Deprived Students in Government Schools

†2617. Shri Gajendra Singh Patel:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) whether there is any provision in the Right to Education Act regarding the distance of the school from the residence of the student for free admission; (b)  if  so,  whether  the  deprived  students  are  being  given  admission  in  the  Government schools located within the said distance; (c) whether it is a fact that instead of giving admission in the Government school located within  the  prescribed  distance,  admission  is  being  given  in  private  school  outside  the prescribed  distance  resulting  in  financial  burden  on  the  Government,  if  so,  the  details thereof; and (d) whether the Government has any plan to provide admission to the deprived students in Government schools located within the prescribed distance in future, if so, the details

- thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d) Section 6 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 mentions the duty of appropriate Government and local authority to establish school. It states that the appropriate Government and the local authority shall establish, within such area or limits of neighbourhood, as may be prescribed, a school, where it is not so established, within a period of three years from the commencement of this Act. The  rationale  of  this  provision  is  to  provide  all  children  access  to  elementary education.  The  RTE  Act  therefore  mandates  the  appropriate  governments  and  local authorities to provide for children's access to elementary schools within the defined area or limits  of  neighbourhood.  The  RTE  Act  does  not  define  the  limits  or  area  of

neighbourhood as a centralised norm, but requires the appropriate Government to notify such limits or area in the RTE Rules. This is on account of the very diverse geographical, climatic terrain and the varied development requirements of the different States, and the conscious  decision  that  States  would  be  better  placed  to  define  the  'neighbourhood', keeping the best interests of different children in mind.

However,  the  Central  Government  has  attempted  to  exemplify  this  in  the  Model RTE Rules circulated  to  States,  which  provide  for  distance  norms  of  one  kilometre  for children  in  classes  I-V,  and  three  kilometres  for  children  in  classes  VI-VIII,  as  also provision for relaxation of norms in places with difficult terrain where there may be risk of landslides, floods, lack of roads and in general, danger for young children in the approach from their homes to the school. These have also been incorporated in the Central RTE Rules applicable to all UTs without Legislature.

In  providing  for  the  right  of  every  child  to  free  and  compulsory  education  in  a neighbourhood  school,  the  RTE  Act  does  not  restrict  the  choice  of  the  child  to  seek admission in a school which may not be in the immediate vicinity, or the neighbourhood of the  child's  residence.  In  other  words,  there  is  no  compulsion  on  the  child  to  seek admission only in the school in his or her neighbourhood.

The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing an Integrated Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  School  Education-  Samagra  Shiksha.  Under  the scheme, in order to facilitate the deprived children to attend government schools, financial assistance  is  provided  to  States  and  UTs  for  undertaking  various  activities,  including opening/strengthening of new schools upto senior secondary level, construction of school buildings  &  additional  classrooms,  setting  up,  up-gradation  and  running  of  Kasturba Gandhi  Balika Vidyalayas, setting up of Netaji  Subhash  Chandra  Bose  Avasiya Vidyalayas,  construction  of  hostels  for  PVTGs  under  PM-JANMAN,  construction  of hostels under Dharti  Aaba  Janjatiya Gram  Utkarsh  Abhiyan for unsaturated  ST population, free uniforms, free text books, transport allowance and undertaking enrolment & retention drives. Further, under 'Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman' (PM POSHAN) one  hot  cooked  meal  in  Government  and  Government  aided  schools  is  provided  to students at the elementary level of education, including Balvatika, which encourages the children to attend schools regularly.

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