Nursery Admissions in Delhi NCR 2026-27

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TheIndusparent-Your two-year-olds will now have to prepare for an interview to crack nursery admission!

Your two-year-olds will now have to prepare for an interview to crack nursery admission!

Yes, you read that right!

If you thought getting admission in nursery and kindergarten is child's play, think again. You'll be surprised to know that it is more like a battle and that you have to start preparing your child for it as soon as he starts walking!

Kids as young as two are now reportedly taking coaching classes.

Why you ask? Well, because some schools are flouting legals rules and screening kids and even parents, in some cases, for admission to pre-school classes. A report in the Huffington Post suggests that in order to get their wards admitted to the 'best schools' Mumbai-based parents are shelling out lakhs of rupees and sending them to coaching classes.

Shockingly enough, starting post three years of age is not considered good parenting, because by then your child has already crossed the 'basic learning stage.'

Hidden under the rug

Shushed under the garb of teaching kids about general knowledge or about how to converse, experts suggest these classes are not limited to just Mumbai, but are very much available even in the capital city.

We spoke to Sumit Vohra, founder of admissionnursery.com, the biggest community on nursery school admissions, who revealed some shocking statistics.

"All schools that take interviews, although it is not allowed in Delhi under RTE but some do so in a hush-hush way. In fact, they undertake profiling of parents and ask about their profession or qualification, designation, yearly income and some even ask about the mobile handset they may be using to gauge the financial status," shares Vohra adding that these schools the then crosscheck whether the facts given by parents are correct or not by asking for PAN numbers and/or visiting cards.

"However, we must know that in many schools of Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad this practice is allowed and continues with interviews of parents as well as the children," he says.

Pressure on parents

Vohra adds that such interviews are not just stressful for the kids, but most importantly for the parents.

"Parents are under tremendous pressure as one cannot anticipate whether a three-year-old might become cranky or might not respond properly at the time of school interview. Some kids even get scared or cranky and are anxious as to why their parents are preparing them for interview at home," he adds.

"The playschools also prepare kids, but some people have started special courses in institutes that charge a handsome amount. My suggestion is for parents to remain away from these institutes. Remember that playschool preparations is sufficient for kids' school admissions," he explains.

Questions asked during such interviews

Vohra reveals that kids are often questioned about some color, or toy, or shape or a vegetable, for instance.

"They also ask kids to recite a poem of his/her choice, phonics or three-letter words, they are assessed on their reading or counting abilities as well as their abilities to solve puzzles. They are also observed for any medical problem or separation anxiety, toilet training and funnily enough schools even enquire about the car that the family owns," he shared.

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Vohra also explained that such interview often lead to increased anxiety among children. "Almost 99 percent kids are taken away from their parents and so while some kids end up crying, some become very sleepy as the interviews overlap with their afternoon naps," he adds.

Such interviews, especially now that nursery admissions have started are only adding more pressure and stress on parents.

Psychological effect of such interviews

"It seems that parents have become involved in a rat race and the pressure of competition has taken over the better of them. The first instinct of any parent in this situation is to refuse to send their child to a school that scrutinizes their kid at the tender age of two and three," explains Seema Hingorrany, Mumbai-based clinical psychologist.

She adds that many times this competition leads to parents becoming angry at their little ones and that in turn adds more pressure on the child. "I can test a child's IQ best when he is between the ages of 8 and 10 years. So testing a kid at this tender age cannot be a benchmark for his intelligence," explains Hingorrany.

She says that a child's intelligence is a reflection of his emotional and psychological well-being and over pressurizing the child can often lead to depression and push them over the edge, in many cases.

"So many children these days are increasingly becoming victims of depression and drugs at just 10 years," she says, adding that letting the child be and grow at his own pace is the only way to help him grow harmoniously. "What matters at the end is how your child is shaping up, emotionally," she says.

Read: THIS is why kindergarten children must play with other kids

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Permalink Reply by Lathaa Manavalan on March 15, 2017 at 2:35pm

An example of bad parenting style. Parenting styles affects child's behaviour.

If a parent is so anxious to put in lot of stress on their child then as Mr.Vohra has pointed out in the article that it develops anxiety among children which leads to major problems later on in their life.

Parents should realize that those schools that undergo any type of screening for kids which are considered to be stressful and not apt at this age are not fit for their kids and just avoid it. All schools should follow RTE Act. Kids should love the environment and enjoy learning. Children should never be traumatized in sake of our self interest.

J.Krishnamurti an eminent educationist has quoted :

The problem is not the child, but the parent and the teacher ...

The problem is not the child, but the parent and teacher; the problem is to educate the educator.

The [child] is there to be guided and helped; but if the guide, the helper is himself confused and narrow, nationalistic and theory-ridden, then naturally his pupil will be what he is, and education becomes a source of further confusion and strife.

If we see the truth of this, we will realize how important it is that we begin to educate ourselves rightly. To be concerned with our own re-education is far more necessary than to worry about the future well-being and security of the child.