Nursery Admissions in Delhi NCR 2026-27

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Hindustan Times~ 3Feb~No end to nursery mess till state schools become an option

No end to nursery mess till state schools become an option

Navigating the chaos of nursery admissions is perhaps the biggest challenge parents face in Delhi. So a few years back, when a chain of schools in the city offered advanced seat-booking discounts to mothers just out of maternity wards, only a few thought it was absurd.

HT FILE PHOTO There have been reports of parents using bogus rent agreements to show they live in the vicinity of a sought-after school to gain points under neighbourhood criteria during admissions.

Many didn’t mind blocking a spot for their newborns even if it meant shelling out huge sums years in advance. Just in case the child didn’t get into any of the dozen schools his/her parents would apply to when he/she reached the appropriate age, this was to be a back-up option.

Getting a seat in an elite school was never easy. Earlier, parents paid big donations to schools. Others tried political connections to pull strings. Women gave up teaching jobs in government schools that offered better salaries to join private ones so their kids could get admission under the staff quota.

In 2007, the government abolished interaction — interviews of children and their parents — and started trying a range of solutions. First, Delhi got the court-mandated rules for nursery admissions based on the recommendations of the Ganguly Committee.

Tests and interviews were banned and schools were asked to decide a child’s eligibility based on a 100-point scale that rewarded girls, students with older siblings in the same school, children of alumni and those living in the neighbourhood. The guidelines left some room for improvisation. So some schools asked for vegetarian parents, others had extra points for those who had participated in national and international sporting competitions.

The guidelines have changed again this season. In December, norms issued by Lieutenant- Gover nor Najeeb Jung gave 70 out of 100 points to the ‘neighbourhood’ criteria giving children living within an 8-km radius of the school a priority in admission. The 20% ‘management quota’ was abolished.

While most think these are the fairest admission rules so far, the new norms have not made life any simpler. There have been reports of parents using bogus rent agreements to show they live in the vicinity of a very sought-after school to gain points under the neighbourhood criteria. Schools have now started physical verification of the addresses of the applicants.

On the other hand, as a recent survey by admissionsnursery.com showed, the distance parameter has limited parents’ choices. While 75% of them applied to at least 15 schools earlier, only 63% are now able to apply to as many schools. Many are missing the “bus route” distance by a whisker because of traffic detours. Others complained they didn’t even have any “good” schools in their 8-kmradius.

In a status-conscious Delhi, the admission race is not only about education. Of Delhi’s 1,300-odd private schools, only about 100 are in real demand. With no mechanism in place to ensure basic academic and infrastructural standards, parents quickly avoid options that are not “established” yet. Cutthroat competition in college admissions is further driving up their anxiety.

As far as the “established” schools go, Delhi has not added many to its traditional list because no concessional land has been allotted to schools since 2003. In the last 10 years, most new schools came up in Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad, resulting in a skewed supply in Delhi.

While the admission process has to be regulated, the government must also give parents more options. Delhi needs equitable distribution of good schools across the city. As long as schools — both government and private — are allowed to operate without meeting basic standards, the great nursery rush will continue.

One of the promises the Kejriwal government has made in its 17-point agenda of governance is to open 500 schools in the city. Many don’t consider ill-equipped state-run schools an option. The CM needs to ensure that at least this new lot of schools comes up as a respectable alternative to the private ones. The race for finding a spot in the so-called top schools will continue but it may not get so desperate when affordable sarkari schools offer quality education.

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Permalink Reply by Maharam Tanwar on February 3, 2014 at 2:45pm

Unless, govt. run schools do not perform at par with private schools, one can never bring relief to parent community for better education for their children.

Govt. teachers are getting good salary and their appointment goes through a designed process. Only qualified teachers are appointed. Though there is a lack of infrastructure with govt. schools, but that does not mean that teachers will not endeavour to provide quality education to their students because they are being paid for that.

Private schools are performing very good, Why? They are also qualified at par with govt. teachers. Then why so much rush for private schools? Why govt. is deciding admission process for private schools and not doing something good to lift the standard of govt. schools.

Unless the above is done, the problems will keep on arising more n more? It is certain.