In Tamil Nadu, the school education department has received only 18,000 applications for the 80,000 seats available in private matriculation schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, just two weeks into the admission process. Officials believe that the slow pace is largely due to disruptions from the previous year, where already admitted students were shifted to the RTE quota without inviting fresh applications. However, there is optimism that the number of applications will rise in the last week of the admission period, as evidenced by previous years where a significant number of applications were submitted late. The admission process commenced on April 2, with schools required to publish the number of available seats within two weeks. The eligible candidates' list is set to be published on May 20, and the admissions will take place through a draw of lots on May 22. To expedite the process, the Director of Private Schools, Suganya, plans to instruct education officers to enhance awareness regarding the application process. The delay in obtaining necessary documents, attributed to ongoing poll work, is also a concern for applicants.