1.30 lakh students enrol across Tamil Nadu under RTE admission this year

CHENNAI: As the registration under Rights to Education (RTE) admission ended on May 20, the number of applications crossed 1.3 lakh across Tamil Nadu, and in Chennai alone, over 10,000 students from economically poor backgrounds have applied for admissions in private schools this academic year.

The registration under RTE admission this year started on April 22. Around 80,000 seats were available in little over 7,200 schools across the State under the RTE Act.

A senior official from the School Education Department said that in 2024-2025, the total number of RTE students is 1.3 lakhs. Noting that the enrollment through RTE was about 1.20 lakhs in the last year, he said 'All the applications will be scrutinized and accordingly the seats will be allocated to the children'.

Explaining further that if the eligible applications are more than 25% of intake capacity, a random selection method shall be adopted, he said, 'All the eligible children will be allowed to get admitted to their required private schools this year too.'

Concerning the RTE admissions in Chennai, Chennai collector Rashmi Siddharth Zagade said that this academic year had as many as 10,342 applications. Out of which, the number of valid enrollments stood at 9,051, she added.

Stating that several schools have got more than the 25% quota of RTE admissions, the collector said 'The random selection would be made on May 28 in the presence of parents'.

However, Tamil Nadu Private Nursery, Primary, Matriculation, Higher Secondary, and CBSE Schools Association general secretary KR Nandhakumar stated though all the private schools have admitted the students under RTE as per the norms, still the state government has not reimbursed the fees for 2023-2024.

DC Elangovan, secretary, of the Federation of Associations of Private Schools in Tamil Nadu, said that the government had not only failed to reimburse the fees for the last year but also decreased the fees amount.