TN yet to open RTE admissions online over Centre withholding funds; parents suffer

With the Union government yet to release funds of about Rs 600 crore for the beneficiaries of Right to Education (RTE), the Tamil Nadu government has not opened the online admissions portal for RTE Act for the 2025-26 academic year. The Centre has withheld total funds of Rs 2,151.59 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme that implements the RTE in the state.

Also read: No TN student in top 10 NEET-UG rankings this year; experts explain why

The RTE Act mandates that private schools in India reserve 25 per cent of their seats for children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, with the government reimbursing the schools for the associated costs. The financial responsibility for implementing the scheme is shared between the Union government and the Tamil Nadu state government under the SSA scheme, which follows a 60:40 ratio between the Centre and the state government.

TN's opposition to NEP

Since Tamil Nadu opposes the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), the funds have been withheld. The students admitted in previous years under the RTE Act have now been asked to pay the fees in private schools on their own, as the scheme is now not applicable due to a lack of funds. The officials from the School Education Department have said that RTE funds for four academic years have not been released.

Also read: Twice-a-year board exams for Class 10 from 2026: CBSE

The challenges in the timely release of these funds in Tamil Nadu have led to delays in reimbursements to private schools, which has now led to the closure of the RTE admissions portal in Tamil Nadu. The state reimburses the fees to private schools based on a per-child cost, which must be notified to the Centre for reimbursement claims.

Experts suggest that private schools, having access to legal resources, could challenge the government’s denial of funds in court, as the RTE Act places the responsibility on schools to admit students and seek recourse if funds are not provided. This situation has left parents uncertain, as many rely on the RTE Act to afford private education for their children.

Option to legally challenge

“Private schools are well-versed in their rights under the RTE Act and can legally challenge the government’s denial of funds. They’ve demonstrated this by taking the government to court over issues like the Uniform System of School Education Act and Fee Regulation Act. It’s reasonable to expect schools to similarly assert their rights in court regarding the non-disbursement of RTE funds,” said PB Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common School System – Tamil Nadu.

Also read: Why do Indian medical students flock to Iran to study?

He added that under the RTE Act, parents relying on the RTE Act to admit students in private schools are not able to afford the tuition fees of such schools and apply under RTE. “They shouldn't be affected due to the government’s actions. The schools are aware that these parents can’t afford fees, which is why they’re admitting them under RTE in the first place. It is the schools that are responsible to admit students, and they can challenge the delay in the funds by the government in court.”

The delayed release of funds under the RTE Act has left many parents in Tamil Nadu facing financial uncertainty. While many of them say that besides the tuition fees, there are other expenses of cultural events and extra costs that they have to pay for, others are looking at alternatives.

What parents say

“I work as an assistant designer at a printer store and my salary of Rs 20,000 is not enough to run the household and to keep my child in a private school. I paid the annual fees of about Rs 25,000 now but I am considering to move him to a government school if this situation continues,” says Kumar, father of a 7-year-old boy, who was admitted to a private school under RTE.

Meanwhile, many other parents who were waiting for the RTE admissions to begin this academic year, are now giving up hope and have chosen alternatives as they did not want to waste an academic year for their child.

R Vijay who was waiting for the admission portal in Tamil Nadu to allow application for his daughter, said that he could not wait any further as the admissions are over at all schools. “I had to admit my daughter in some school this year or it will waste another academic year. I will try next year if it’s allowed,” he said.

'Private schools shift burden on parents'

Activists say that it is a sorry state that the parents who cannot afford admissions on their own will have to pay from their own pockets or change schools, which defeats the purpose of the RTE Act.

“There was a setback even during the COVID pandemic, when the funds were delayed and a lot of students had to drop from private schools and they joined the government schools. The private schools are shifting the burden on the parents. But, the schools are capable of utilising the reserved funds for paying the fees for these students temporarily and later they can claim it from the government. All the schools have the reserved funds and they can be used if they truly want to assist the students,” S Arumainathan, president of the Tamil Nadu Students Parents Welfare Association, told The Federal.

On the other hand, private schools also express their concerns about fund crunch, and some of them have not yet asked the parents to pay. General Secretary of Tamil Nadu All Private School Association, John Arokia Prabhu said that they have not yet asked the parents to pay for the students as they don’t want the burden to be shifted to the students. “We want the RTE component of the Samagra Siksha Abhiyan to be delinked so that the funds for beneficiaries of RTE are released. The Madras High Court has also directed the Centre and we hope for the immediate release of funds,” he added.

What School Education Minister says

The state education department has raised the concern of the delay in the release of RTE funds and even released the funds for the private schools in the state. However, a reimbursement of Rs 589 crore is pending from the Centre for the amount released by the state government since 2021.

“The issue has been raised consistently with the Union government for the last 3-4 years. It cannot be entirely be linked with the state opposing the implementation of NEP in Tamil Nadu since the funds have not been disbursed before the policy was framed. The RTE cannot be implemented in such circumstances,” said an official from the state education department, on condition of anonymity.

Calling the Union government's disbursal of educational funds selective and discriminatory, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in the book on National Education Policy-2020, ‘Madhayaanai’, said, “For the academic year 2024-25, under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Tamil Nadu was allocated Rs 3,586 crore, of which Rs 2,152 crore was to be contributed by the Union government. However, of this sum, only Rs 573 crore, representing the first instalment was partially disbursed, with the remaining amount withheld. In stark contrast, states that endorsed the NEP received their full share of funds.”