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Delhi: School demands details of parents' phone brand, rent for nursery admissions

Varun Bidhuri  | Posted by Dev Goswami

New Delhi, January 15, 2017 | UPDATED 06:51 IST

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What brand of cellphone do you use? Do you live in a rented house? If yes, how much do you pay for it?

No, these aren't questions you are likely to encounter at a job interview or a TV game show. However, a Delhi private school wants this information from parents of prospective nursery students.

The admission form uploaded on the website of Adarsh Public School in Dwarka's sector 12 seeks personal information regarding parents, with part (3) and (4) of Question 2 asking for "the mobile handset name and model no used by guardian".

EDUCATION DIRECTORATE: WILL LOOK INTO IT

Criticising the move, Delhi's Directorate of Education (DoE) said "If this is true, we will examine whether it violates the high court direction with which admission criteria used to be transparent, justifiable and equitable. Appropriate action will be taken."

Nursery admissions, for the upcoming academic session, in over 1,400 private schools in the national capital began on January 2.

According to DoE guidelines, parents' achievements and professional fields cannot be the criteria for admission as all children have equal rights. As India is a developing country and literacy rate is not 100 per cent, giving weight to parents' education criteria is unjust to children whose parents do not have educational background, officials say.

Competition to get into the best nursery schools is fierce, as Delhi's parents, like their counterparts all over the world, try to give their children every possible advantage in a competitive, globalised playing field.

On December 7, newly appointed L-G Anil Baijal approved the nursery admission guidelines for 298 private unaided schools. The Delhi government had directed these schools, running on DDA land, to withhold nursery admission process till new guidelines are notified. The remaining 1,400 schools are free to decide criteria and their points for admission, but they will have to steer clear of a list of 51 norms, which the government abolished last year. The application process for admissions will end on January 23.

Also read: Nursery admissions: Over 250 Delhi schools will follow separate rules

Sumit Vohra, founder of the parent community 'admissionsnursery.com', said, "How are nursery admissions related to mobile handsets of parents? Schools are asking for parents' income, education, and profession, among other things, which have been withheld by the HC last year."

Condemning the action, chairperson of Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools SK Bhattacharya, said, "If the school has done this, it is absolutely wrong. I am not in favour of this."

Despite several calls and messages, the principal of Adarsh World School, Savita Sharma, was not available for comments.

Adarsh Kindergarten School in Vikaspuri, Venkateshwar International School in Dwarka and DAV Pushpanjali School in Pitampura are also asking for similar information