Chennai, June 3 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government has confirmed admission for 24,868 students under the Right to Education (RTE) Act for the 2026-27 academic year, with education officials expecting the number to rise significantly by the end of this week as parents complete the admission process.
According to the Directorate of Matriculation Schools, a total of 2,51,537 applications were received for 82,888 seats available under the RTE quota in 7,740 private schools across the state.
The RTE Act mandates that private unaided schools reserve 25 per cent of entry-level seats for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections of society.
A senior education department official said that admissions are continuing across districts and more confirmations are expected, particularly from rural and remote areas where parents may require additional time to complete documentation and school formalities.
“Till Tuesday afternoon, 24,868 seats had been confirmed based on parental acceptance. We expect the number to increase further by the weekend as the remaining selected candidates complete the admission process,” the official said.
The current figures indicate steady progress in the implementation of the RTE admissions process. During the previous academic year, a total of 63,991 seats were filled under the scheme across Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the state government has initiated a parallel exercise aimed at strengthening oversight of fee collection practices in private schools. The Directorate of Matriculation Schools has directed district and regional education authorities to collect fee structure details from all private educational institutions functioning in the state.
The move follows instructions from the Tamil Nadu Fee Determination Committee, which regulates fee collection in private schools.
According to an official circular, authorities have been asked to gather information from schools affiliated to various boards, including matriculation, CBSE and other recognised educational systems operating in Tamil Nadu.
The exercise is being carried out under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Schools (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act, 2009.
Officials have been instructed to compile details of fee structures approved for the current academic year and submit them to the committee for review.
District Chief Educational Officers have been tasked with coordinating the data collection process and ensuring that information from all eligible schools is forwarded without delay. Education department officials said the initiative is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to promote transparency in school fee collection and ensure strict compliance with statutory regulations governing private educational institutions.
–IANS
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