Hindustan Times - 23 Dec Most parents favour new nursery rules: Poll
NEW DELHI: A majority of parents whose children are eligible for admission in nursery school this year think their chances of getting a seat in a school of their choice will improve with the new guidelines.

“Surprisingly, more than 25% parents in the survey felt that 10 km should have been the radius instead of 6 km so that most of them could have had a chance in schools of their choice,” said Sumit Vohra, founder, admissionsnursery.com.

In a survey conducted by admissionsnursery.com, a portal for parents, 40.8% parents felt that the chances of their children getting admission in a good school have increased after the new admission guidelines have been released.

Almost 1,700 parents participated in the online poll.

Almost 11% of the parents, meanwhile, said that they were not happy with the guidelines as there were not getting neighbourhood points in the schools that they had wanted their children to go to.

A little over 41% of the respondents, however, wanted changes in the distance criteria - 28% wanted the neighbourhood radius to be increased to 10 kilometers while 13.4% wanted a staggered points system for distance (giving maximum points to those living within three kilometers and lesser points to others).

Distance has been one of the most controversial points this time, with a number of schools saying that the move will backfire. Some parents have also spoken out against fixing 70 points for this criterion, making it the decisive factor.

“What happens to those parents who have sent their older child to a school that is more than 6 kilometers away? The younger child will not get the points for distance and the sibling’s points will be meaningless. Also, those parents who were ready to arrange transport for their children and want their children to go to particular schools will suffer,” said Harish Mehta, whose daughter will start nursery next year.

Schools, meanwhile, have written to the Lieutenant Governor and have requested him to review the guidelines.

Hindu 23 Dec~Most parents are happy with new nursery admission guidelines: Survey

Most parents in the city are satisfied with the new nursery admission guidelines approved by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung this past week. And, a quarter of the parents only grouse is that the “neighbourhood” criteria be changed from six km to about 10 km, according to a survey conducted by admissionsnursery.com.

According to the guidelines, admissions will now have to be done on a 100-point basis in which 70 points will go to children who live within a six km radius of the school. Sibling studying in school gets 20 points; parent alumni of school has only five points and inter-State transfer cases has the remaining five points. Any seats remaining vacant will have to be allotted by the draw of lots.

During the survey that covered 1,650 parents, around 40.8 per cent respondents said that they are happy with the guidelines and that they have a better chance of getting their children admitted. However, around 28 per cent said that the neighbourhood should have been expanded to include a radius of 10 km. Around 10.4 per cent of the parents did not like the guidelines as they did not have any schools in the neighbourhood. And, around 3.8 per cent did not like the guidelines because they had an older child who was in a school that the younger child could not get into because of the increased points for neighbourhood and the lower points for sibling.

Around 13.4 per cent felt that it would have been better if the points for “neighbourhood” could be awarded in a spread out fashion where you are given 70 points for your home falling within six km but you are also entitled to get some lesser points if your house is a little farther away; the number of points being in direct ratio to the distance of your home.

About 3.6 per cent said they had other reasons for not liking the new guidelines. While being surveyed, some parents said that the guidelines were unfair to those who lived in Central or South Delhi where schools were scarce. Some said that they would be forced to move their homes to be nearer to a school while some parents said that it was unfair that “parent alumni,” got only five points when parents naturally wanted their child to study in the same school as themselves. There were also parents who said that points for “first child,” being taken away was unfair especially when “siblings,” got points. The five points for girl child was also cited as unfair by those parents with a boy.

Times of India 23 Dec

40% parents happy with nursery rules

TNN | Dec 23, 2013, 05.44 AM IST

NEW DELHI: To get a more accurate picture of parents' response to the new nursery admission guidelines, a website has conducted a poll. They asked over 1,600 parents—all members of the forum on nursery admissions—if they are "happy with the new admission points system". Turns out, 40.8% parents are.

Of the 1,650 parents polled by admissionsnursery.com, 673 felt they have "some chances of getting admission in a 'good' school." The worst affected by the neighbourhood points—that is, they won't get any—are 172 and an even smaller number, 63 (or 3.8%), find the 20 points for sibling unhelpful as the second child resides beyond 6km. This is a concern that's been expressed by several school principals as well who argue that as 20 sibling points don't make up for absence of distance points and many younger kids will find themselves cut off.

At least 462 parents (28%) feel that increasing the distance limit to 10km will solve the problem and 221 parents feel the points could've been "staggered" —the number of points decreasing with increasing distance from school.

NBT 23 DEC

TIPS ON ADDRESS PROOF BY OUR FOUNDER - MR SUMIT VOHRA