Bhubaneswar: More than 15,000 seats reserved for children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in private schools across Odisha remained unallotted for the 2026-27 academic session, indicating a gap between availability of free seats and their utilisation under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.According to data on the school and mass education department’s RTE Paradarshi portal, 40,424 students were allotted seats against 55,472 available ones in 4,517 private schools across the state. This effectively left 15,048 seats vacant, accounting for nearly 27% of the total.The number of registrations was considerably higher than available seats, with 61,666 students applying for admission under the scheme in the current academic session. Hence, the allotment figure is considerably lower, with around 73% of the declared seats allotted in total. Officials concerned said many of the applications were found invalid for allotment.Under Section 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, private unaided schools need to reserve at least 25% of their entry-level seats for children belonging to economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups. The provision aims to provide children from disadvantaged backgrounds access to education in private schools without having to pay fees.Odisha conducts the admission process through a centralised online lottery system on the RTE Paradarshi portal. Applications are verified by block education officers before eligible candidates are considered for seat allotment.The admission process for 2026-27 included multiple rounds of registration and allotment to fill up available seats. Govt had initially scheduled two rounds of admission, with provision for a third round if vacancies persisted. The third-round lottery was conducted on June 18, with 2,446 children allotted seats, following which admissions were scheduled from June 19 onwards.The vacancies are particularly concerning because seats reserved under the RTE quota cannot be transferred to the general category even if they remain unfilled. Education rights activists said additional expenses in private schools, despite govt bearing prescribed education costs, could discourage parents from taking up allotted seats.“The department needs to analyse vacancies to ascertain whether all children allotted seats actually take admission. We have usually seen such vacancies in big schools, where parents may hesitate to send their children because of additional expenses involved,” said Basudev Bhatta, an education rights activist.The state govt bears prescribed registration, tuition and admission fees of children admitted under the 25% quota. However, schools may have other charges related to exhibitions, excursions and projects, which parents from economically weaker backgrounds may find difficult to afford. “This is why children often do not take admission in big schools, leaving reserved seats vacant,” added Bhatta.