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Over 70,000 students secured seats under Tamil Nadu’s Right to Education Act this year, but uncertainty clouds tuition fee refunds as private schools await government dues. Why have applications dropped sharply?
70,449 students have been admitted to private schools across Tamil Nadu
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu School Education Department on Thursday announced that 70,449 students have been admitted to private schools across the state under the Right to Education (RTE) Act for the 2025-26 academic year.
However, uncertainty looms over whether parents will receive refunds of tuition fees, as private schools have demanded that the state government first release pending reimbursements.
This year, 70,449 students were enrolled under the RTE Act in 7,717 private schools. The number marks a marginal drop from 71,398 admissions recorded in 2024. Of the total, 70,350 students secured seats in LKG while 99 were admitted to Class I.
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According to School Education Secretary B Chandramohan, the admission process was conducted through a lottery system on Friday in schools where applications exceeded available seats. “Eligible students from socially and economically disadvantaged groups were selected from among admitted students for entry-level classes,” he said.
The RTE Act mandates that 25% of seats in private schools be reserved for children from weaker sections of society.
In Chennai alone, over 280 private schools participated in the lottery in the presence of parents and teachers. At P.S. Matric Nursery School, for instance, 17 out of 30 applicants were selected.
“The process was smooth and transparent. We directly approached the headmaster, submitted documents, and the records were already verified,” said a parent whose child was selected.
Data from the School Education Department shows that RTE admissions in Tamil Nadu have remained stable between 69,000 and 72,000 annually over the past five years, except during the pandemic year 2020-21. However, the number of applications this year has fallen sharply by more than 50%, raising concerns about awareness and outreach.
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Under RTE norms, private schools are required to refund any fees paid by parents whose children are later admitted under the Act. However, the fee refund process remains uncertain this year as schools are yet to receive reimbursements from the state government.
“We will refund fees once the government clears its dues. The state still owes schools tuition reimbursements for the past two academic years,” said K Nandakumar, president of the Tamil Nadu Private School Association.
The RTE admission process was initiated this year after the Union government released ₹450 crore towards RTE reimbursements in September. Schools now await the state’s disbursement before refunding parents.
