Chhattisgarh eases RTE norms to fill 25% quota seats

The Chhattisgarh government has overhauled admission guidelines under the Right to Education (RTE) Act to ensure that 25% of seats reserved for economically weaker and disadvantaged sections in private schools do not go vacant. The strict neighbourhood-locality condition has been replaced with a tiered priority system: children within 1 km get first priority for Classes 1 to 5, and those within 3 km for Classes 6 to 8. If not enough applications come from these zones, schools must admit eligible children living beyond those limits.

The new order, issued by School Education Secretary Kamalpreet Singh, removes the need for separate government permissions for every out-of-boundary admission. The government has also streamlined the fee reimbursement process under Sections 12(1)(c) and 12(2) of the RTE Act. The reform follows a January 2026 Supreme Court ruling that called RTE admissions a vital national mission, and advisory guidelines from the Union Education Ministry on October 21, 2026. Instructions have been sent to all District Collectors and District Education Officers across Chhattisgarh.

Update, 12 November 2026: urbanacres.in adds new details: the school education department issued the clarification on November 10, and specifies that if applications exceed seats, selection will be through a lottery. Both outlets confirm the tiered priority system and the removal of the mandatory neighbourhood condition.