Tamil Nadu to commence RTE admissions from 6 October
Tamil Nadu 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.
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.