In an effort to ensure transparency in the upcoming Delhi nursery admission process, the Directorate of Education (DoE) has instructed all private schools operating under it to video record the entire process of draw of lots for selection of general category students, and maintain the clips for at least three months after the admission process ends.

“Last year, we received a lot of complaints regarding schools being unfair in the lottery process. So, this year, we have asked the authorities to video record the entire process of draw of lots,” said Saumya Gupta, Education Director, DoE.

In addition, the schools have been asked to inform parents beforehand to ensure their presence at the time of the draw. “Parents should be present at the time of the draw of lots to ensure that everybody’s name is there on the slips,” Gupta added.

“Last year, when I was seeking admission for my daughter, we were fooled by a renowned public school in the name of the lottery. Neither did they allow parents to pick the chits nor did they make sure that everybody’s name was there on the slips. Eventually, I could not enroll my daughter in that school,” said Meena Bakshi, a resident of east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar area.

The experts, however, said the DoE should have mentioned all this in their guidelines issued recently. “DoE should have issued a circular regarding the videography and the presence of parents at the time of draw of lots as some schools can easily escape claiming that they were not aware of the new rule,” said Sumit Vohra of admissionsnursery.com.

Vohra did admit that the move might bring in transparency in the process. “We have received many complaints in the past, that some schools conduct the process in the absence of parents or inform candidates by email or SMS,” he said.

The nursery admissions for the upcoming session will begin from January 2, 2017.

TOI

Nursery parents worried after Jung’s sudden exit

Mohammad Ibrar | TNN | Updated: Dec 24, 2016, 12.53 AM IST

New Delhi: Nursery admissions in Delhi are a cause of anxiety for parents every year. The unlikeliest of the reasons this year is the unexpected resignation of lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung on Thursday.

Parents across the capital fear that the release of guidelines for the 285 private, unaided schools may be pushed further back if the LG has not already approved and signed the guidelines.

Earlier, the Directorate of Education (DoE), Delhi government, came out with a separate set of guidelines for 285 private, unaided schools operating on government land, on December 19, throwing nursery admission schedules off kilter.

The delay in release of the guidelines will lead parents or guardians to lose out on the money they usually spend on blocking a seat at a stopgap school, which would normally be refunded later if they got their wards admission into another school of their choice.

This is in line with a 2015 order of the Directorate of Education (DoE), Delhi government, where all the private, unaided schools were directed to refund parents or guardians all the fees and other charges within 15 days of such request. The schools, however, may retain registration charges, admission fee, and tuition fee of one month only.

This gave enough breathing space to parents who could then get their children admissions to the school of their choice.

All this uncertainty and delay has added to the worry of parents. Girish Joshi, a resident of Jangpura who lost out on a chance to get his daughter admitted to a school last year, says: "I wanted her to study at a school nearby, but could only get through schools that were far away. I am trying again now for a good school near my home."

Khagesh Jha, an activist, assures parents saying that the delay will be only for a couple of days, but, if it persists, the DoE would surely extend the time frame for admissions, like they did in 2013, when litigations over nursery admissions delayed the process across Delhi.

Most parents, however, are unsure about the parity between the guidelines of the 1,400 schools and those of the 285 private schools, which are still awaited.

"It is very confusing, as it may be possible that the criteria for them will be entirely different.

They may have certain provisions which are tough to meet and we will lose precious time trying to comply with those new guidelines," Amit Yadav, a parent, said.

Hindustan