Vijetha S.N

The “new,” nursery admission guidelines released by the Lieutenant-Governor’s office a few days, was amended again on Friday.

According to the new guidelines, admissions will continue to be done on the 100-point basis but children living within an 8 km radius will now be included in the “neighbourhood,” criteria which carries 70 points. Grandchildren of staff members will also be entitled to a five per cent quota which was earlier extended only to the children.

In the guidelines released on December 18, admissions into nursery schools had to be done only on the basis of four criteria like, “neighbourhood up to 6 km (now increased to eight), sibling studying in the school, parent alumni in the school and inter-transfer case.” The Right to Education Act has been extended to these admissions.

“The parents we interviewed were especially upset of the short distance of the neighbourhood measured since there are many pockets in Delhi which do not have schools. Also, siblings who were in a school and admitted with a further distance were also at a disadvantage,” said Sumit Vohra, who runs the admissionsnursery.com

The school managements were also upset at the neighbourhood criteria while the NGO which had initially challenged the earlier criteria in the Court felt that the fears of schools were unfounded since there were enough schools in the city, according to their survey. They too, however welcomed the change: “It still emphasises the fixed criteria and the management quota still remains scrapped, so we welcome it,” said Khagesh Jha, an activist of the NGO.

The total number of seats for admission to a class for children below six will still be divided into four parts. Out of this, 25 per cent of the seats have to be reserved for the economically weaker section and disadvantaged group, five per cent for the wards and grandchildren of the staff/ employees of the school. The unfilled seats will spill over to open seats. Five per cent will be for the girls’ quota which will have to be divided according to a draw of lots for girls residing within a 6 km radius. In the event that seats remain vacant or unfilled through these quotas, then they can be allotted based on the draw of lots.

Times of India

NEW DELHI: Anu Khatri's son will now get the 70 'neighbourhood' points; She'd been missing out for half-a-kilometer. After all the meetings and representations, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, relented only on one point -the radius for neighbourhood is now eight kilometers instead of six. Points allocated to neighbourhood are still 70. And grandchildren are now eligible for the 5% staff quota.

There is no other modification to the December 18 guidelines. Management quota still stands abolished; points distribution is also the same as is the 5% girls' quota. Considering the reaction of school bodies, parents can now look forward to more litigation.

But the change has brought Khatri's son within the 'neighbourhood.' Staying in Vaishali, Ahlcon International and Ahlcon Public Schools were between 6.5 and 7 km from home. "I am so relieved!" says Khatri, "I had zero points, now it's 70." Another parent, based in Defence Colony has also found her options expand considerably to include several central Delhi schools. "It will help those on the city side," says a Chhattarpur parent, "It doesn't really help me. Schools I'm interested in are still about nine kilometers from home. But two kilometers will make a lot of difference." She adds resignedly, "Actually no guideline will please everyone." Along with the amendments to the order, Jung also issued a statement explaining why certain changes were made and some suggestions rejected. The distance was increased, he said, because parents had "identified specific school/schools" but "any further increase would vitiate the concept of neighbourhood schools and increase travel time for small children considerably." Parents hope schools will choose the 'aerial' mode of measuring eight kilometers.

Another parent, based in Alaknanda, fears that expansion will make lotteries difficult. "Even for the 5% girls' quota, there'll be many more candidates and massive lotteries," he observes. Sumit Vohra of admissionsnursery.com fears exactly that. "The Directorate of Education should make strict guidelines. If dates of list-declaration clash, there'll be a problem," he says. About the change for the staff-quota, schools are asking wondering whose grandchildren will be eligible. "Will the grandchildren of all the teachers who have retired from here be part of the pool for this quota," asks a teacher from one of the older schools

On management quota Jung statement says, "There is no review of the management quota. There is possibility of misuse of this quota and this cannot be accepted in a society that seeks to provide equal opportunity in education for all that includes the poorest of the poor and the weakest of the weak. The intent is to ensure to the maximum extent possible that admission for children would be in a transparent and fair manner." He also clarifies that the 5% girls' quota doesn't mean they won't be able to apply for the open seats and kids with disabilities are already covered by the 25% EWS quota and don't need points.
Navbharat Times -28 DEC

एडमिशन नर्सरी डॉट कॉम के फाउंडर सुमित वोहरा ने भी डिस्टेंस लिमिट को लेकर सर्वे किया था और ज्यादातर पैरंट्स ने डिस्टेंस लिमिट 6 से बढ़ाकर 10 किमी किए जाने की मांग की थी।