Nursery admission: Kids without 'extra' points fail to make cut
Published: Sunday, Jan 22, 2012, 16:37 IST

As a number of schools in Delhi have come out with their first list of selected candidates for nursery, it seems the kids without receiving points either under sibling or alumni criteria have almost failed to make any cut, at least for now.

While the trend suggests that only children with points in sibling or alumni category have managed to come successful in the first list, parents allege that the selection process in many schools has been very confusing and non-transparent.

In its first list, a top school in South Delhi has selected 69 students having points ranging from 85 to 65. As per its criteria available on its website, the school has alloted 30 points for sibling, 20 for alumni, 30 points for neighbourhood, and 5 points each for children with special needs, first child or single parent.

"This suggests that a child without getting points either in sibling or alumni category cannot get more than 50 points. And the results show the school has given preference only to the kids who fulfil one of the two criteria," says a parent whose child failed to make a cut in the first list.

"If the trend continues, I am not very much hopeful that my child would get selected in future too," she says, wishing not to be named.

The first lists of other schools also tell the same story and some have not even disclosed the points awarded to the selected students, which experts describe as an "elbow room" for future manipulation by the schools.

"The schools that have disclosed alloted points are at least transparent enough to admit that they prefer kids with sibling or of alumnus. But, those have only asked parents to come for document verification may have created an elbow room for themselves to manipulate," says Sumit Vohra, founder of admissionsnursery.com.

Another reputed school at Tito Marg has given 30 points each for sibling, transfer case and neighbourhood to students selected in the first list.

But parents allege how come a person getting benefit of transfer case -- who as per rule is the person who has got transfered to Delhi in the past one year -- can avail points for sibling.

"The school has not given any definition for 'transfer case' in its application form and it seems something fishy," says Ankur Bharatia, who has applied in the school for his child's admission.

"It makes a mockery of the whole points system. Any one having some sense of the process can question that how can both the sibling and transfer case co-exist," says Vohra
Ashok Ganguly, former CBSE chairman who had drafted the points system for nursery admission in Delhi in 2007, says the points system was made to make the admission process smoother for both the schools and parents.

"But the way it's being manipulated, it not only creates more confusion, but also defeats the whole purpose for which it was developed," he says

"Unless you make all schools follow a uniform system, such problems will continue to surface," he adds.

Meanwhile, some schools are being accused of offering admission on first-come-first basis, a violation of guidelines issued by the Directorate of Education.

TV Subhashini, a resident of Dwaraka, says she got a call from a top school in that locality saying they are offering nursery admission on first-come-first-serve basis.

"When I reminded the school authorities that I haven't even applied in their school, it was hardly a concern for them," she says.

Parents are also complaining that many popular schools continue to side-step the DoE guidelines, according to which schools should declare their first list on February 1.

"But, more than two weeks before the stipulated date a number of schools have come out with their fist list, we don't want to complain for fear that our children will suffer," says M Lata, who is eagerly waiting for the results in 20 schools she has applied this year in South Delhi.