Tamil Nadu to commence RTE admissions as centre releases its share of Rs 538 crore

CHENNAI: The state government has announced that it will issue notifications for admissions under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, for the academic year 2025-26 on October 6, reports Subashini Vijayakumar, of The New Indian Express.

The announcement follows the release of the centre’s share of funds Rs 362.81 crore for the entire 2024-25 academic year and Rs 175.59 crore as the first instalment for 2025-26.

However, since the academic year has already begun, the admission under this category for this academic year will cover those eligible children who are already enrolled in entry-level classes in unaided and non-minority schools across the state.

The Madras High Court, in June, directed the centre to consider delinking the RTE component from the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme and disbursing the funds separately.

Accordingly, the matter was examined and, with the approval of the union education minister, it was decided to implement the direction, said a note shared by the education department. However, it is uncertain whether the centre has decided to permanently delink RTE from the SSA scheme.

Under RTE, 25% of seats in entry-level classes (LKG/Class 1) of all unaided non-minority private schools are reserved for students from economically disadvantaged sections. The state government, which usually issues notification for the admissions, did not issue it this year citing non-release of SSA funds from the central government.

This was also seen as the main reason as to why the admissions in government schools across the state, which was 3.2 lakh in 2024-25, rose to more than four lakh this year. On an average, 85,000 students are admitted in private schools under RTE every year.

This year, RTE admissions will not be open for fresh applicants. Instead, a 10-day online window has been announced to regularise children already admitted in entry-level classes under the RTE quota for which parents, who wish to apply, can approach the respective school headmasters.

Priority admission will be given to the children from vulnerable categories, including orphans, HIV-affected or infected children, transgender children, children of manual scavengers and disabled children. In cases where the number of applications exceeds the available quota, a transparent random selection process will be carried out, said the press release.

The release also stated that private schools have been asked to refund the fee already collected within seven working days, with confirmation from both the school and parents.

It is to be noted that a Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting was held in August, which took into account the expenditure incurred by the state government in 2024-25. The PAB approved Rs 604.68 crore under the RTE entitlements component for 2024-25, of which the central share is `362.81 crore. For 2025-26, Rs 585.31 crore was approved, with the central share amounting to Rs 351.18 crore.

V Easwaran of the Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam, who had filed a contempt petition against the TN government for delaying RTE admissions, said that under the Act, seats reserved for economically disadvantaged students must be kept vacant for six months.

“It is illegal to choose from students already admitted after private schools have filled seats as they wish. This has deprived many children of the opportunity to benefit from the Act,” he said, urging the government to increase the number of RTE seats this year in view of the delay.