RTE applications touch 2.5lakh this year

Chennai: The directorate of private schools received 2.5 lakh applications for 82,888 seats available under the Right to Education (RTE) Act across 7,740 private schools this year. “This is the highest number of applications in the past three years. One parent can apply to at least five private schools within the neighbourhood. The final list of admitted candidates will be out next week,” S Suganya, director of private schools, said.

Private schools have to reserve 25% of the seats in the entry classes, including LKG and Class I, for students from economically and socially weaker sections under the RTE Act. State govt also gives priority for children of conservancy workers, HIV-affected, differently abled and orphans in RTE admissions.

No other candidate can be enrolled in a seat meant for RTE students, said Nandakumar, president of the Tamil Nadu Private School Association. “Some schools may illegally change the seat to general category, but most leave the seat empty,” he added.

Considering the application-to-seat ratio, Federation of Private School Association (FePSA) wrote to the school education department to bring down the number of schools a parent can apply to from five to two. “Vacant seats in a school should first be filled from the selection list, then from the waiting list. Even after this, if vacancies remain, eligible students from among the applicants to that school should be admitted in the order of the application list. Moreover, children whose parents do not attend the lottery at the concerned school during the draw of lots should not be included in the draw,” M Arumugam, president of FePSA, said.

The admissions were postponed last year, citing a delay in funds for RTE from Union govt. They were later conducted in Oct 2025 after the funds were released. In 2024, the state saw 1.74 lakh applications, and in 2023, 1.1 lakh. However, the number of seats has hovered between 75,000 and 85,000 over the past three years.

After the priority admissions, the directorate will conduct a lottery system for schools that get more applications than available seats under the quota. Parents can view the selected list of candidates on the school notice boards.