• 
  Times of India
  

  EASIER PROCEDURE, EQUAL ANXIETY

  Schools witness parent rush

  More Online Options, But They Line Up For Admission Forms

  TIMESNEWSNETWORK

  
  New Delhi:No matter which guidelines are in force, parents will never cease to be stressed about nursery admissions. On Tuesday, despite the weather, parents still turned up in schools across town to collect and submit forms or to make enquiries. Admissions began in most schools and are being conducted following guidelines based on the December 18 order of LG Najeeb Jung.
      The standardization of the admissions criteria—these and the points for each are fixed—has made things easier. Now, all parents have to do is note the dates for the draw of lots. Seeking to admit his first child, a son, and based in south Delhi, Ankit Luthra is spoilt for choice. Yet, he started the round of schools on the first day itself and was one of the few parents to submitting the form at The Indian School within minutes of drawing it. “It is the first time. We are a bit nervous,’ says Luthra. “We have 10-15 schools within 8km of our place.” Shrikant Mishra, another “firsttime” applicant, chose to cancel a work tour rather than wait to apply later. “I am happy with the new guidelines. Plus there’s no management quota,” he says.
      This year, even more schools have moved the process of admission online. But parents haven’t stopped doing the rounds. “We are going to the schools to find out if the process is online for them,” says Monika Dogra, a school teacher. The haste displayed by parents is evident from the number of hits on websites and the number of forms bought. Indian School sold over 125 forms in 20 minutes; Springdales School, Pusa Road, got 6,600 hits on their website in about three hours.
      “The eight-kilometre criterion gives me the opportunity to find a good school in the locality,” says Haseeb Alam at a New Friends Colony school. “The commute will be shorter for the child.” He is seeking to admit his daughter, a third child, and believes the 5% girls’ quota will help. Schools, however, will have to arrange for lotteries this time.
      But it hasn’t been all pleasant for everyone. Parents of twins are especially unhappy. “With a lot of struggle parents of twins managed to get a clarification from the government on twins. FAQs answered by DoE say categorically that twins get sibling points,” says one exasperated parent after being unable to register at a number of schools, including DPS (East of Kailash, Mathura Road), Mothers’ International and Tagore International, whose online admissions forms don’t include twins in sibling category. “Your form will not be accepted unless you click ‘no’ for ‘sibling’,” he says. “Some other schools define ‘sibling’ only as brother/sister of a child studying in the school. If you click ‘yes’ for sibling, you are asked admission no. and class.”
  
  

  
  
• 22 Jan 2014
• Hindustan Times (Delhi)
• Mallica Joshi ■ mallica.joshi@hindustantimes.com

Hindustan Times~NURSERY ADMISSION SEASON KICKS-OFF

New Delhi: The first day of the much-delayed nursery admission season had parents queuing outside schools to make sure they did not miss out on a chance to apply. NEW DELHI: The first day of the much delayed nursery admission season had parents queuing outside schools and logging in online round the clock to make sure they did not miss out on a chance to apply.

A number of parents were surprised when Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, one of the most popular schools in central Delhi, declared on its website that they will follow a different admission system since it is categorised under a linguistic minority.

While the school is following the admission schedule, it has a completely different points system where a maximum of 20 points is being given for distance: 10 for a sibling, 10 for an alumni and 5 for a first-born.

Points are included for pluralism, promotion of Indian heritage and the age of the child. The school had a similar points system last year.

This year, minority schools have been exempted from following the guidelines set by the Lieutenant Governor. The quota for students from the economically weaker section has been scaled down to 10%.

“This development has surprised and disappointed a number of parents,” said Sumit Vohra, founder, admissionsnursery.com, a portal for parents.

Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai, disappointed a number of parents when it announced that it will not admit any new students in nursery this year as their building is under construction.

“I was counting on my daughter going to Apeejay as it is right opposite my house. I don’t understand what the need to cancel admissions is. Other children are going to school aren’t they?” said Bharti Pandey, a resident of Sheikh Sarai.

Most schools have decided to upload their forms online instead of having long queues outside their premises.

The nursery admission helpline, started by the AAP government, received 1652 calls on the first day of admissions. Out of these, 140 were to report a complaint.

According to the director, education, Padmini Singla, most of the complaints were related to schools fixing an upper age limit for admission or forcing parents to buy prospectus forms for more than ` 25 or asking for donation.

In the nine days since the helpline has been launched, it has received 12,766 calls. The number of complaints registered is 244, out of which 140 were registered on Tuesday.

INDIAN EXPRESS

Nursery: Form sale tepid on Day 1Written by Shikha Sharma | January 22, 2014 01:50

Related

Braving the winter chill and rain, parents looking to enrol their children in pre-primary classes made a beeline to the capitals’ private schools on Tuesday — the first day of nursery admissions. More than 60 of the capitals’ top schools opened their gates for admission, with many solely selling the forms online.However, confusion prevailed on the first day, with sparse crowds turning up at schools due to the weather. A day after Delhi High Court dismissed the plea of unaided private schools seeking a stay on the L-G’s nursery admission guidelines, many parents did not turn up as they did not know that the admission process had begun.Schools recorded tepid sale of forms, with big schools like DPS RK Puram merely selling 100-odd forms on the first day.“I read about the beginning of admissions only this morning in the newspapers. I’ll start visiting the schools from tomorrow,” Manish Gupta, a resident of Karol Bagh, said.While schools like Bal Bharti School, Pusa Road, DPS Vasant Kunj and Bhatnagar International School, Vasant Vihar, were only issuing forms online, others like Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, Ahlcon International and G D Goenka, Vasant Kunj used both online and offline mode for sale of forms. Schools such as Springdales Group, St Thomas and Vasant Valley are expected to begin sale of forms from January 22.Most forms, however, find no mention of what exactly constitutes the 8-km neighbourhood criterion or how schools will measure this distance — a matter of much concern among parents. Only a handful of schools, such as Sanskriti, Mount Carmel and G D Salwan, Rajinder Nagar, have clearly defined areas that constitute their neighbourhood.The Department of Education also received complaints about schools illegally charging parents for buying forms and prospectuses. Instead of charging the nominal fee of Rs 25 laid out in DoE guidelines, some schools such as Ahlcon International, Mayur Vihar and St Michaels School, Pusa Road had been charging Rs 150 and Rs 50 respectively for forms.Parents also faced problems tracking their respective education officers to file complaints against erring schools. “About 50 per cent of schools I visited today still don’t have display boards outside. Considering the admissions are starting so late, shouldn’t they have put up the boards by now?” Falguni Malhotra, a parent, said.Some parents have reported schools refusing sibling points to twins. “I visited three schools in Dwarka today, and all three told me that twins will not get any sibling points. When I cited the DoE guidelines, they refused to accept it. I am going to file a complaint against the schools soon,” Rashmi Paliwal, another parent, said.In the nine days since its inception, the nursery helpline has received 12,766 calls and registered 244 complaints. “A total of 140 of those complaints were registered today. Most complaints pertained to schools asking for donations, confusion over neighbourhood criterion, schools compelling parents to buy prospectuses and selling forms at higher prices,” Padmini Singla, Director, Department of Education, said.

AMAR UJALA

नर्सरी दाखिला: शुरू हो गई ऑनलाइन रेस

दिल्ली हाईकोर्ट में स्कूलों की याचिका खारिज हो जाने के बाद निदेशालय के आदेश पर मंगलवार से नर्सरी में दाखिले की रेस शुरू हो गई।

हालांकि बारिश, असमंजस व ऑनलाइन फॉर्म के कॉकटेल से नर्सरी दाखिले की रेस पहले दिन ही स्पीड नहीं पकड़ पाई। स्कूलों के ऑनलाइन फॉर्म जारी करने से स्कूलों के बाहर लगने वाली लंबी-लंबी लाइनें देखने को नहीं मिली।

वहीं, फॉर्म मिलने का समय तय नहीं होने से दाखिला विंडो के बाहर बीते सालों जैसा क्रेज अभिभावकों के बीच नहीं दिखाई दिया। वहीं, पहले दिन प्रॉसपेक्टस की मुंहमांगी कीमतों के नाम पर स्कूलों की मनमानी भी जारी रही। राजधानी के टॉप स्कूलों की बात की जाए तो काफी स्कूलों में अभिभावकों की भीड़ देखने को नहीं मिली।

यह भी पढ़ें: इसलिए 100 स्कूलों के छात्रों नहीं मिली स्कॉलरशिप

सुबह अचानक बारिश हो जाने से अभिभावकों ने दाखिला फॉर्म न लेना ही मुनासिब समझा। वहीं निदेशालय की ओर से दाखिला शेड्यूल को लेकर सोमवार देर शाम ऑर्डर जारी किए गए। लिहाजा कई अभिभावक ऐसे रहे जिनको दाखिले की तिथि के बारे में पता हीं नहीं चल पाया।

मंगलवार सुबह तक ही उन्हें दाखिला शेड्यूल का पता चल पाया। जिसके कारण पहले दिन उन्होंने दाखिला फॉर्म लेने के लिए कोई खास रुचि नहीं दिखाई। इस साल काफी बड़ी संख्या में स्कूलों ने अपने फॉर्म ऑनलाइन कर दिए। जिसके कारण स्कूलों के बाहर लगने वाली भीड़ भी कम रही।

यह भी पढ़ें: नर्सरी दाखिले से पहले ये 5 बातें जानना जरूरी

स्कूलों के ऐसा करने से अभिभावकों को भी काफी सहूलियत हुई। उन्होंने अपने घर व कार्यालय से ही फॉर्म डाउनलोड कर लिए। महावीर सीनियर सैकेंडरी स्कूल में फॉर्म के लिए पहुंचे राजेश ने बताया कि पहले दिन ही उन्होंने कम से कम आसपास के पांच स्कूलों में फॉर्म लेने का ट्रागेट रखा था।

लेकिन अब बारिश के कारण बाकी स्कूलों में अगले कुछ दिनों में ही जाएंगे। एक अभिभावक प्रीति ने बताया कि कुछ स्कूलों में ऑनलाइन फॉर्म है पहले यह पता नहीं था स्कूल आने पर ही पता चला। अब स्कूल से यह शिकायत है कि उनका फॉर्म डाउनलोड ही नहीं हो रहा। सोचा था कि ऑनलाइन फॉर्म होने से समय बचेगा लेकिन बार-बार चक्कर लगाने पड़ेंगे।

इक्का-दुक्का स्कूल आज से शुरू करेंगे दाखिला प्रक्रिया �
कोर्ट के आदेश के बाद आनन-फानन तरीके से निदेशालय ने मंगलवार से दाखिला प्रक्रिया शुरु करने के आदेश दे दिए। इसका नतीजा यह रहा कि कुछ स्कूल दाखिला प्रक्रिया मंगलवार से शुरू ही नहीं कर पाए। जानकारी के मुताबिक इन कुछ स्कूलों में वंसत वैली व श्रीराम स्कूल के नाम शामिल हैं। वसंत वैली स्कूल ने तो अपनी वेबसाइट पर इस बात की जानकारी अपलोड की है कि बुधवार से दाखिला प्रक्रिया शुरू होगी।
�
कुछ स्कूलों ने नेबरहुड के तहत इलाके नहीं बताए
नर्सरी की रेस में निदेशालय की ओर से कहा गया था कि स्कूलों को नेबरहुड के तहत इस बात की जानकारी देनी थी कि वह ऐरियल से या रोड से दूरी को माप रहे हैं। इसके साथ ही आठ किलोमीटर के तहत आने वाले इलाकों को बताना था। लेकिन कुछ स्कूलों ने ऐसी जानकारी जारी नहीं की। लिहाजा कई अभिभावक ऐसे रहे जिन्होंने स्कूलों में आवेदन करना था लेकिन इलाकों की जानकारी नहीं मिलने के कारण वह तय नहीं कर सके कि वह फॉर्म भरे या नहीं।

प्रॉस्‍पेक्ट्स की कीमतों पर जारी रही मनमानी
दाखिले रेस शुरु होने के साथ ही स्कूलों की मनमानी भी शुरु हो गई। अभिभावकों प्रोसपेक्ट्स की मुंहमांगी कीमतें वसूली गई।� एडमिशन नर्सरी डॉट कॉम के प्रमुख सुमित वोहरा ने बताया कि अभिभावकों ने सेंट मेरी स्कूल व इंडियन स्कूल द्वारा 500 रुपये प्रोसपेक्टस के मांगने की शिकायत वेबसाइट पर की है। निदेशालय के नियमों के मुताबिक स्कूल मनमर्जी करते हुए फॉर्म की कीमत 25 रुपये से अधिक नहीं वसूल सकते। जबकि स्कूलों ने पहले दिन ही फॉर्म के साथ प्रोसपेक्ट्स लेने का दबाव बनाया।

सिबलिंग में जुड़वा बच्चे शामिल हैं या नहीं, रहा कन्फ्यूजन
पहले दिन ही अभिभावकों को जुड़वा बच्चों व अपर ऐज लिमिट को लेकर कन्फयूजन रहा। एडमिशन नर्सरी डॉट कॉम के प्रमुख सुमित वोहरा के मुताबिक अभिभावकों की शिकायत सिबलिंग में जुड़वा बच्चे शामिल हैं या नहीं, इस बात को लेकर रही। वहीं अपर ऐज लिमिट को लेकर हो रहे असमंजस के कारण पैरेंट्स पहले दिन फॉर्म लेने से बचते दिखे।

DAINIK JAGRAN