Hindustan Times |Parents in the national capital region have seem to move beyond. For them, the academic record is not just the only parameter to choose schools for their children now.

In an online survey conducted by admissionsnursery.com, it was revealed that while distance and fee structure are still the top most concerns in parents' minds, factors such as holistic development and emphasis on co-curricular activities are equally important for selecting a school for their wards.

The survey, in which around 1,700 parents from NCR participated, found that close to 21% of the parents choose a school on the basis of its distance from their house. Almost 18% said they will choose a school if its fee structure is adorable, nearly 17% voted for the institution's proven track record as a key criterion. While all these three criteria have been constant for the last many years, the category of holistic development got 16% votes for the first time.

“This trend is new and shows that parents are as interested in co-curricular activities as they are in academics. For instance, the schools which are give importance to lessons in horse riding, swimming and theatre, are receiving more attention,“ said Sumit Vohra, the founder of admissionsnursery.com. Other factors that parents see before choosing a school included student-teacher ratio, infrastructure, course curriculum, day boarding and transport facility.

Distance is a major factor as it is also one of the categories based on which schools give points to applicants. The nursery guidelines for this year are expected to be out after December 15 and the sale of forms may start from January 2. There are about 4,500 schools in Delhi and NCR, of which over 2,000 are unaided private schools.

Financial Express | Indian Express| PTI

Parents looking for more in schools - ideology, track record

Though distance and fee structure still matter, a school's track record and ideology are the two other major factors that attract parents the most while making a choice for their children's nursery admission in Delhi, a new survey has found.

The online survey conducted by popular parents' community forum 'admissionsnursery.com' found that nearly 21 per cent of parents would choose a school for their wards' admission if it is located near their home.

While nearly 18 per cent said they would choose a school if its fee structure falls into their budget, nearly 17 per cent voted for the institution's proven track record as a key criteria for them to choose it, found the survey in which nearly 2,000 parents participated.

School's ideology -- holistic or academics -- came fourth with 16.04 per cent of parents saying they would select a school based on the approach of eduction it provides, indicating a "paradigm shift" in parents' assessment of a school.

There are a number of schools in Delhi and NCR which now offer an "holistic approach to learning" which they claim focuses on empowering students to make decisions, to find creative solutions and plan effective action strategies.

For instance, many schools provide lessons in horse riding, swimming, trekking, while many others focus on extra curricular activities like dancing, singing, acting etc.

"In the past four to five years, we have seen there is a paradigm shift in parents' assessment of a school. Though fee structure and distance still matters for them, most parents now look for the holistic and track record of a school before choosing it," said Sumit Vohra, the founder of the website that conducted the survey.

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