CHENNAI: Applications for admission to private schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act reached a record high in Tamil Nadu this year, with more than 2.5 lakh enrolment requests received from across the state.
According to the school education department, a total of 2,51,537 applications were received for 82,888 seats made available across 7,740 schools in the state under the Act. In 2024, the state had received 1.74 lakh applications, marking an increase of about 44% this year. In 2023, the number of applications stood at about 1.1 lakh.
Under the RTE Act, 25% of seats in entry-level classes in unaided private schools following the state board syllabus are reserved for students from modest backgrounds. The government reimburses the students’ fees to the schools later.
Admissions under the RTE Act were not conducted in 2025 due to the non-release of Samagra Shiksha funds. Students already enrolled in private schools and found eligible under the RTE Act were later brought under the quota by the department.
For schools where the number of applicants exceeded the available seats, the department conducted a lottery draw on May 22 to select students. The parents of those students selected received SMS notification from the department. The names were also displayed on the notice board of the respective schools.
The selected students have to confirm their acceptance of admission to the school during the first week of June, officials said. The admission orders issued would be consolidated over the next week, as some students may have been selected in more than one school. Students will be admitted based on the preference of the parents, they added.
Meanwhile, private school associations said the significant rise in applications could be due to increased awareness among parents of being allowed to apply to up to five schools to improve their children’s chances of selection. They, however, pointed out that this could result in the same child securing admission to more than one school, leaving some seats vacant. The number of schools a parent can apply to should hence be restricted to two per child, they urged the government.