NEW DELHI: General category applicants who were initially elated by the 70 neighbourhood points are fast discovering that 70 is the new zero. Very few schools are even holding draw-of-lots for those with just distance points. But it's the transfer cases - a surprisingly large number of them - that has everyone stressed. A group of nearly 40 parents have written to the education minister, Manish Sisodia, asking him to intervene.

"Only those coming from outside Delhi have a sure shot at getting in," says a parent. "I attended the draw for Delhi Public School, Vasant Vihar. 50 of the selected candidates are transfer cases. What should we do? This was the only school where we had the extra five alumni points," says Amit Goel, a parent. Alumni cases are feeling short-changed most as the points for alumni and transfers are the same - five. Based in Vasant Kunj, he should be spoilt for choice of schools - the area has a very high concentration of private schools considered 'good' - but is finding his chances, at least in the first round, are close to none.

D R Saini, principal, DPS RK Puram (senior schools for both DPS VV and DPS East of Kailash), says of the 140 general quota candidates selected at DPS VV, 50 (more than a third) are transfer category ones. In the case of DPS EOK, 38 out of 117 selected candidates have got the five transfer points. "We had 9,000 registrations this year, a record. We couldn't check them then but now we are checking one-by-one. Till February 28, all documents will be very minutely checked," says Saini who agrees that this year has seen a significant increase in the number of transfer cases. He further explains the guidelines have also left it vague defining transfer as "inter-state." "Transfers from Gurgaon and Noida are also interstate but there's no word on NCR in the instructions."

"We've been staying here for decades and paying taxes," argues a parent, "How can someone who comes in from elsewhere have more rights than us?"

"I'm going to go through each form with a fine-toothed comb," warns Springdales School, Pusa Road, principal, Ameeta Mulla Wattal, "We've got about 200-250 cases. We had points for transfers earlier also but never so many applications." Suman Kumar, principal, Bluebells School International, has also noticed "a substantial increase." "Checking will have to be done even if it is random," she says.

Parents suspect foul-play. "We want the authorities to do away with transfer points altogether. Or at least not permit the NCR transfer. All you need is a letter from the employer saying you've moved. The large number of these has raised the cut-off to 75. We, who have just 70 distance points, are not at a stage when our chits can even go in," says a parent.

Activists like Khagesh Jha had warned of this earlier. "The number of seats that could be filled by alumni and siblings should've been fixed," says Jha, "Or these groups will snap up all the seats."