Try GOLD - Free
RTE admissions: Only 16K apply for 35K seats
The New Indian Express
|October 20, 2025
THE Tamil Nadu School Education Department's attempt to fill 25% of seats in unaided non-minority private schools under the RTE Act, 2009, for this academic year, with children already admitted in the entry-level classes of these schools, has hit a roadblock.
Official data show that only 16,707 applications have been received for 34,666 seats in 3,220 private high and higher secondary schools as of October 14, the date on which the list of eligible applicants was originally scheduled to be published.
Meanwhile, 65,306 applications were received for 45,721 seats in private primary schools. In the previous academic year of 2024-25, the department received a total of 1.7 lakh applications under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act.
As a result of the shortfall and a recent Madras High Court order, sources said the department has extended the deadline to complete the RTE admission process from October 17 to October 31.
This story is from the October 20, 2025 edition of The New Indian Express.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The New Indian Express
The New Indian Express
BJP calls Tejashwi promises 'cruel jokes'
HOURS after RJD's chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav made a big promise for Bihar's Jeevika Didis on Wednesday, the BJP called his assurances a \"cruel joke\".
1 mins
October 23, 2025
The New Indian Express
Can yellow metal scale back to 1 lakh level?
Analysts see steeper fall on Thursday; metal's relative strength index indicates prices passed into overbought territory
2 mins
October 23, 2025
The New Indian Express
Signal failure disrupts trains, people stranded for three hours
HUNDREDS of passengers were stranded across several stations and faced severe hardship in the Chennai-Arakkonam section on Wednesday following a major disruption in train services.
1 min
October 23, 2025
The New Indian Express
6 lakh Amazon jobs on the line as robots step in
AMAZON.COM plans to replace more than 6,00,000 employees with robots over the next decade in the US, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing internal documents.
1 min
October 23, 2025
The New Indian Express
Talks with govt constructive: Leh team
IN the first sign of a thaw, leaders of Ladakh, where four people died in police firing during the recent pro-statehood protests, met with officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday for subcommittee level talks.
1 min
October 23, 2025
The New Indian Express
SHOEGATE: DON'T REPLACE DISSENT WITH DOGMATISM
A lawyer's ideology-driven attempt at assaulting the Chief Justice was India's 'Capitol moment'-an attack on the top seat of constitutional adjudication. Duress cannot be a tool for dissent
4 mins
October 23, 2025
The New Indian Express
Heavy rain lashes southern AP, five districts affected
A well-marked low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal has unleashed torrential rainfall across southern Andhra Pradesh, severely impacting Nellore, Tirupati, Chittoor, Kadapa, and Annamayya districts for three consecutive days.
1 min
October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express
Panchayat chief loses post for failing to pay ₹6,400 tax due
A town panchayat chairperson in TN, whose husband openly claimed that they had spent ₹2 crore to get that position, has been removed from the post for failing to pay a property tax due of ₹6,400 for her eight commercial and residential buildings within the stipulated period in 2022-23.
1 min
October 23, 2025
The New Indian Express
DON'T PROLONG I.C.E.AGE, REMOVE SOPS FOR POLLUTING HYBRIDS
WHILE the nation looks appalled at the smoke from firecrackers enveloping the national capital post Diwali, new research shows there is need to worry about something they thought was far less polluting.
1 mins
October 23, 2025
The New Indian Express
HC asks TN to enact law to regulate loading, unloading works in state
Says need to balance the rights of workers and traders or businesses that employ them
2 mins
October 23, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size