CHENNAI: A reverse migration to government schools triggered by the impact of the second Covid-19 wave has cut down admissions under Right to Education (RTE) Act in private schools in Tamil Nadu by 29% compared to last year. When RTE admissions ended on August 24, only 50,100 students got admitted under the quota. This is 20,200 less compared to last year.
With 3,520 students, Madurai district recorded the highest number of RTE admissions. It was followed by Tiruvallur with 3,290 admissions and Chennai 2,750 admissions.
As per the RTE Act, private schools must reserve 25% of their seats at the entry level for children from economically and socially disadvantaged sections. About 1,03,330 seats in LKG and Class I were available in 8,300 private schools for 2021-22. “The number of applications itself has dropped. In 2020-2021 academic year, 1.25 lakh applications were received. This year it has come down to 82,500,” a school education department official said. “After scrutiny, only 78,000 applicants were found eligible,” a school education department official said. Of the 1.25 lakh applicants, 70,300 got admitted under the quota last year.
A lot system was used on August 19 to admit students under this quota and children were asked to join the schools on or before August 24.
“Though the state government reimburses tuition fees for students admitted under RTE, parents still need to pay for notebooks, uniforms and transport, among others. With loss of livelihood, parents could not pay these fees and prefer government schools,” said S Arumainathan, state president, Tamil Nadu Students Parents Welfare Association. “Many parents admitted their wards in private schools for social status. Now, with loss of livelihood, they are content with government schools,” he added.
Also, government schoolchildren are offered 14 welfare schemes including free notebooks, schoolbags, footwear and textbooks.
K R Nandakumar, general secretary, Joint Action Committee for Private Schools Association, also cited the Covid-19 pandemic as the main reason for the fall in RTE admissions.
“The government has also announced reservations for government school students in medical, engineering, law and other professional courses. It is also one of the reasons for the decrease in interest among parents to enrol their wards in private schools,” he added.
