Karnataka extends RTE 25 percent quota deadline to May 17

BENGALURU, May 7 — Karnataka's school education department has extended the RTE 25 percent quota application window for 2026-27 by 10 days, pushing the deadline from today to May 17 and rescheduling the first online seat-allotment lottery to May 25. Parents seeking free seats in private unaided schools now have until midnight on May 17 to file applications on the state portal.

The extension lands after a slower-than-expected response in the first 10 days of the window, against a backdrop of heatwave-triggered school closures across the state in late April. RTE seats at LKG and Class 1 are the only legal route to free private-school admission for economically weaker section families in Karnataka, and an under-filled cycle leaves seats stranded for the academic year.

Applications opened on April 21 and now run through May 17, the department said in its revised calendar published on the official portal. Trial submissions ran on April 18 and 19; the first round of computerised seat allotment will follow on May 25, with confirmed admissions between May 26 and May 30. A second round is scheduled for June 12 if seats remain. The 25 percent reservation, mandated under Section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act, applies to entry-level classes in every private unaided school in Karnataka. Eligible families need household income proof, residence proof within the school neighbourhood, and the child's age on June 1, 2026 falling within the LKG or Class 1 band. Parents can apply only once and may list multiple schools in priority order on the same form. The department's portal at schooleducation.karnataka.gov.in carries the official notification, eligibility list and school-wise seat counts for every district.

Karnataka's extension follows the same pattern as Maharashtra, which pushed its own RTE 2026-27 deadline to May 8 last week — see Maharashtra's final extension. Both states cited weak first-window uptake, and both face the same downstream consequence: vacant RTE seats that schools cannot legally fill from the open pool, and that the state cannot reimburse if no eligible child applies.

The first lottery on May 25 will assign seats based on neighbourhood priority and parent-listed preferences. Schools have until May 30 to confirm and admit allotted students. The June 12 second round will absorb un-filled and rejected seats — the last operational chance for parents and schools to close out the 2026-27 RTE cycle before the academic session opens in early June.

Source: Free Job Alert, Careers360. Department portal: schooleducation.karnataka.gov.in.

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Earlier in this thread:

• Swami Atmanand admission closes today; CG runs lottery May 6