CHENNAI: In a significant ruling, the Madras High Court has held that the Right to Education (RTE) Act does not restrict admission of children in private self-financing schools under the 25% quota only to the entry level, and eligible children aged 6 to 14 can be admitted in any age-appropriate class under the Act.
The ruling was given by Justice Krishnan Ramasamy while disposing of a petition filed by P Murugan seeking directions to the school education department authorities and a private school at Ayanavaram in Chennai, to admit his son under the RTE Act quota from UKG.
The judge directed the district education officer and the school management to admit the petitioner’s son immediately under the RTE Act quota.
The petitioner stated that the Bethel Matric and Higher Secondary School, Ayanavaram, denied admission to his younger son under RTE quota in 2025 citing unavailability of local residential address proof despite submitting relevant certificates.
Subsequently, he approached the HC which directed the authorities to consider the application, yet it was rejected on June 9, 2026.
He filed another petition praying for admitting the student under the 25% quota from UKG, since he has already been admitted in the same school in LKG under regular stream.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the authorities refused to accept the residential proof based on which the petitioner’s elder son was already admitted under the quota.
Citing the RTE Act, the judge said, “The reading of the provisions clarifies that a child can be admitted at any age.”