http://www.indianexpress.com/news/prospectus-costs-leave-a-hole-in-...

Maroosha Muzaffar
Tags : nursery admission, delhi

Posted: Tuesday , Dec 22, 2009 at 0122 hrs
New Delhi

Despite the Directorate of Education orders that nursery registration fee should not be more than Rs 25, many schools in the city are charging separately for the form and prospectus.
“I bought a form and prospectus for Rs 350 from a school,” Swati Dhir, a resident of Kalkaji, said. Dhir, who has applied in 13 schools in her neighbourhood, said she had “kept Rs 4,000 for the forms.”

With parents applying in at least 10 schools to ensure that their child bags a seat, admission process this year seems to be a repeat of last year.


There are a few schools which are giving prospectus free of cost, but are charging a “processing fee”. Apeejay School, Pitampura, is one such school.

“We provide a registration number to parents, which helps them to fill online forms. We charge Rs 400 as processing fees,” D K Bedi, Apeejay School’s principal, said. “We hired agencies, which developed a software and shifted the admission process online.”



On the other hand, Delhi Public School, Saket, is charging Rs 500 for the prospectus, K R Mangalam School is charging Rs 500, Apeejay School, Saket, Rs 400, Amrita Vidyalaya Rs 400, Birla Vidya Niketan Rs 350 and The Indian School, JB Tito Marg, Rs 325.



Ashok Aggarwal of Social Jurist said, “To prevent schools from commercialising education, the directorate should immediately issue a public circular clarifying that the cost of admission form, which should not exceed Rs 25, should include the cost of prospectus, as contemplated in DoE orders.”

Rekha Sharma, principal of Bal Bharati School, Rohini, said, “There are many aspects of a school that can be described only through the prospectus. It is all about presenting the school. And schools also have to recover the basic cost.”
The Director of Education P Krishnamurthy, meanwhile, said, “The department has not got any information on such schools.”
He said grievance redressal cells have been set up at district levels. “If there is any complain, it should be brought to their notice,” Krishnamurthy said.
Parents are made to suffer at hands of management: BJP
Claiming that “private schools have made a mockery of the admission policy”, BJP councillor Vijender Gupta said “they have invented new methods to collect funds in the name of prospectus”.
Sale of admission forms for nursery admissions has begun. He said schools are charging up to Rs 800 for prospectus.Gupta, president of the Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh, said, “Parents are made to suffer at the hands of the school managements. Despite the Directorate of Education (DoE) making a uniform calendar for nursery admissions, there is chaos and uncertainty.” Alleging that schools are involved in “commercialisation” and the government is not keeping a check, Gupta said, “Admissions should be made transparent.Why some schools are giving 40 points to parents’ educational qualifications? It is against the rules. It is a mockery

Deepak Gupta, a parent from Adarsh Nagar in North Delhi, said, “In the admission forms I brought, I had to mention my income. What has my income to do with the admission of my sons?”(PARENT FROM ADMISSIONSNURSERY.COM)


.”Sumit Vohra, creator ofwww.admissionsnursery.com, said, “Questions like ‘whether yours was a love or arranged marriage’ and ‘did you run away from home’ have nothing to do with admissions but schools still ask such questions during interaction.” To urge the Delhi government to “rein in private schools”, the Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh will stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar on December 23. - ENS