UNDER LENS
Schools told to revise admission criteria
Shreya Roy Chowdhury TNN

New Delhi: Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School on Humayun Road has been asked to alter its admission criteria by Directorate of Education. The school had divided seats into categories and was to draw lots for them – a format that had DOE banned through a circular issued on December 27.
    According to activists like Ashok Agarwal, the system of creating categories and drawing lots amounts to reservation. In response to the circular, branches of Bal Bharati Public School also had to change their admission format in the eleventh hour.
    “R S Junior Modern School had written to us justifying their decision saying their process is in harmony with the guidelines. They had sought a reply from us and on Friday evening we replied saying that their method is not covered under the ambit of the guidelines,” says Amit Singla, director, education. Any changes the school makes will come into force just before the application period ends but Singla believes that this will not affect the application process.
    “The school will still receive forms and the last date for displaying the list of selected candidates is February, 15. There is enough time,” says Singla. Till Saturday evening, however, the details mentioned on the school’s website were unchanged.
    Meanwhile, Sachdeva Public School was sued by parents for fixing upper-age limit. While the school has promised the court that it will drop the limit, other schools are not
likely to follow suit. They say they will “consider” lifting age-cap only if DOE issues a directive.
    “Why should we withdraw,” asks Ameeta Mulla Wattal, principal, Springdales School (Pusa Road) which has fixed a limit of nearly four years. The limit was decided by Delhi School Education Advisory Board on December 19 and then withdrawn within a week. Wattal says this flip-flopping on the part of the authorities “is playing havoc with the parents”.
    “Parent will be anxious if things are constantly in flux,” she says, “Tomorrow, a fiveyear-old can come into nursery. When he grows up, he will be over-age for most competitions meant for the class.” There is no upper-age-limit for the EWS category.
    Bal Bharati Public School, Pusa Road, is not likely to change its stance on age limit either. “As per RTE, the child has to go to an age-appropriate class and three to four is nursery. We are not considering changes unless there is a direction from the DOE,” says principal, L V Sehgal.
FLIP-FLOP OVER AGE BAR
2007 circular fixed minimum age for admission to nursery, KG and Class I at 3, 4 and 5 years, respectively
In 2012, some parents demanded an upper age limit
On December 19, 2012, Delhi School Education Advisory Board fixed upper age limit for nursery (3 years, 11 months, 30 days), KG (4 years,11 months, 30 days) and Class I (5 years,11 months, 30 days)
    Parents with kids older than four years protested
    On December 27, advisory board met again and reversed December 19 decision
Some schools, however, imposed an upper age limit.
Several schools have fixed limit for general category but not for EWS
A parent applying through EWS category took Sachdeva Public School to court over age limit
On January 11, school management told court they were dropping the upper age limit. Other schools continue with it