The Department of School Education has received around 1.42 lakh applications for admission to entry level classes in private schools in Tamil Nadu under the Right to Education (RTE) Act this year. This is an increase of over 50% in the applications received as compared to the academic year 2021-22.
The last date to apply under the RTE Act was extended till May 25 this year. “We received 1,42,175 applications for about 95,000 seats in private matriculation, nursery and primary schools. This is a definite increase as compared to the previous year,” said director of matriculation schools A.K. Karuppaswami said.
Under the RTE Act, 25% seats in entry-level classes in private schools are to be reserved for students from weaker sections of the society. In 2021-22, around 56,166 students were enrolled under the Act and around 73,000 applications were received.
As many schools are expected to receive more applications than the number of seats prescribed under the Act, applicants will be selected by a draw soon. After this the final list of students who got admission will be released.
The School Education Department has announced that schools will reopen on June 13 for students of classes I to X for the academic year 2022-23.