CHENNAI: The school education department has received more than 26,500 online applications within four days of opening online applications for admissions under Right to Education (RTE) Act in private schools.
Officials are expecting more applications for the 25% of seats reserved in LKG and Class I in private schools under the RTE Act. Parents can apply online for admissions till May 18.
Last year, the department received more than 80,000 applications against 1. 03 lakh seats reserved in 8,300 private schools. With more parents enrolling their wards in government schools in 2021-22, the number of RTE admissions has come down to 56,687 compared to 70,300 admissions in the previous year.
Due to fewer admissions in private schools, the number of RTE seats also has come down by 7,000 seats this year. There are 96,000 seats available in more than 8,200 private schools for RTE quota this year. “With online applications crossing 25,000 in the first few days, we expect more applications this year,” an official from the school education department said.
Private schools are looking forward to RTE admissions after the huge migration of students to government schools during the pandemic. “All private schools are creating awareness about RTE admissions. ,” said K R Nandakumar, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Nursery, Primary, Matriculation Higher Secondary and CBSE Schools Association.
“Though many CBSE schools are willing to give admissions, there is a confusion in fixing fee for reimbursement per student in CBSE schools which is preventing the RTE admissions,” he said. As per the court’s direction, individual CBSE schools are fixing the fees and not the fee fixation committee.
Meanwhile, activists complained that private schools are collecting fees. “Due to the delay in reimbursing fees for children joined under RTE Act, many schools ask parents to pay the fees and later collect the amount when the government pays. It is against the act,” said K Murthy, state convener, Right to Education Forum Tamil Nadu.
