RTE enrolments create record by crossing 1.20 lakh

CHENNAI: For the first time, the Rights to Education (RTE) enrolment in Tamil Nadu crossed 1.20 lakh with still four days to go for the registration deadline.

The RTE is being implemented in the state from 2013-14 ensuring 25 per cent reservation for students belonging to the disadvantaged groups and weaker sections in all private non-minority self-financing schools at entry level such as LKG and Class 1. Also, to ensure transparency, the state government has made RTE admissions online from 2017-18.

A senior official from the School Education Department told DT Next that on day one - April 20, 2022, more than 9,000 applications were received.

Stating that more than 8,000 private schools across the state would provide 1.35 lakh seats under the RTE this year.” so far about 1.20 lakh applications have been received both online and physically.” He said last year (2020-2021), the total applications were around 82,000.” Previous year it was about just one lakh,” he added.

Pointing out that the last date for filing RTE admission will be May 18, he said adding “all the applications will be scrutinised to remove multiple applications from a single parent.”

Accepting the decline in the RTE admission over the last few years, the official pointed out that with the admissions under RTE took a downtrend in the recent years. The state government had issued fresh guidelines to all the private schools to ensure the filling of the 25 per cent quota from this academic year.

Claiming that if the eligible applications are more than 25 per cent of intake capacity, a random selection method shall be adopted, he said, “this year all the children will be given the opportunity to get admitted to their required private schools.”

Explaining the new guidelines, the official said from now on all the private schools strictly instructed to provide receipts for physical registrations besides uploading them on the official RTE admission portal. “Uploading the records has to be done in front of the parents,” he added.

However, the official pointed out that it was early to say the exact number of children admitted under RTE since the applications have to be scrutinised.