LUCKNOW, Feb. 22 -- The basic education department has allotted 1.09 lakh seats to children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections in private schools for the 2026-27 session under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, against over 2.61 lakh applications received. The allotments were made after scrutiny of documents submitted by parents, officials said. Lucknow recorded the highest response, receiving 18,107 applications, against which 12,097 seats were allotted. In Varanasi, 7,140 seats were allotted against 17,476 applications, while Kanpur Nagar saw 7,128 allotments against 13,546 applications. Agra had 4,989 seats allotted against 13,627 applications, and Aligarh 4,172 seats against 8,567 applications. Applications for the second phase under the RTE 12(1)(c) opened on February 21. District authorities have been asked to widely publicise the process and encourage more families to apply. Verification of applications will also be carried out daily, an official said. The department received 2,61,501 applications this year, as compared to 1,32,446 at the end of the first round last year. As per state government data, this year the department received 2,61,501 applications compared to last year's 1,32,446 applications. htc...