Anita Mehta will be applying to at least 25 schools this year for her three-year-old son Aahaan. And still, she is worried that her son may not get an admission.
“Friends trying to get their children admitted into nursery last year applied to at least 10-15 schools. And still their children couldn’t make it. I don’t want my child to meet the same fate,” she said.
For the second year running, nursery admissions in the capital has been mired in chaos and confusion. While the High Court has refused to grant interim stay on verdict quashing the point system brought in by the Lieutenant-Governor, the Directorate of Education (DoE) too has refused to issue guidelines, playing wait-and-watch till its case is heard on January 15.
Meanwhile, schools have begun admissions, each following a different admission schedule and set of guidelines. And it is the parents who are left running from pillar to post, trying to make sense of it all.
Since each school is following a different schedule, parents are running around figuring out the modalities for each one. While several schools such as The Indian School (Josip Broz Tito Marg), Mount Abu Public School (Rohini) and Kulachi Hansraj Model School (Ashok Vihar) began admissions on December 20, others such as Gyan Bharati (Saket) will start the process from January 21.
“We were under the impression that the DoE comes out with a schedule every year. But there seems to be some confusion this year, because the DoE has not said anything definite. Should we listen to the schools or wait for something to come from the department?” Pratik Sahu, a parent from Sarojini Nagar, said.
The DoE had earlier stated that it would issue a schedule. But last week, it changed its stance, stating that it will wait for its case to be heard in the High Court before taking a decision on the matter.
“What happens if the High Court rules in the favour of the Education department? Should we wait for the case to settle or get our children admitted?” P K Sahu, another parent, said.
The problems faced by parents have been compounded by the fact that each school has a different criteria. Schools such as Mahavir Senior Model School have reserved points for parents who are vegetarian (5), teetotalers (5) and non-smoking (5). Others such as Kulachi Hansraj have included categories like “sister concern school” (10) and “army/airforce/navy serviceman or martyrs” (10).
Then schools, such as Sanskriti School, favour parents from all-India and Central services. As a result, general category parents have been left with few seats to spare. “Of the 140 seats, there are only 11 for the general category,” Kusum Mukund, a parent, said.
Management quota means there are fewer open seats. “Parents will have to run around from December 20 to January 20, just to collect and submit the forms,” Sumit Vohra, who runs a nursery admission portal, said.
