Despite receiving 11,595 applications for the available 2,259 seats in private schools in the district, under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 61 seats have remained unfilled.

RTE Act Nodal Officer B T Chandrakanth said, a meeting of the officials concerned had been convened on June 24 to discuss the reasons behind the lapse. He said, first, the schools, in which the vacancies exist, should be identified, later it would be probed as to why the seats fell vacant.

Under RTE Act, 2,259 seats were available in the district, but, only 2,198 students have been admitted. While 1,293 seats were available for first standard, 966 were available in LKG. However, only 1,242 and 956 students, respectively, have been admitted this year.

K R Pet (253) and Malavalli (320) blocks have achieved cent per cent success. However, in Maddur, 462 seats have been filled against 477 available seats.

 The figures are, Mandya South - 337 and 352; Mandya North - 111 and 113; Nagamangala - 172 and 181; Pandavapura - 276 and 279; and Srirangapatna - 267 and 284 seats, respectively.

For 1,293 available seats for first standard, 6,584 applications were received and for 966 seats available in LKG, 5,375 applications were received. Sources said, while ignorance of parents about the Act could be one reason for the seats remaining unfilled, lack of facilities in certain schools would have forced the parents not to admit their wards to them.

They point out that some schools do not have sufficient space to be called a school, some of them are run in houses, making parents unwilling to send their wards to such schools.

Some parents said, the officials should act against schools, which do not have adequate infrastructure.