Nursery admissions: more lists, more struggles!

Saroj Kumar Pattnaik

New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) Struggling for your child''snursery admission?

And if your child does not fall in categories likesibling, alumni, girl child, management or EWS quota, thechances of getting admission this year become even more bleak.

With many schools having now released their lists forpre-school admission, it appears that there is very littleroom for the kids belonging to the general category.

Many parents, whose wards have failed to get throughin the schools they have applied for, allege that the pointssystem developed by the schools have come in their way.

The results announced by schools so far, the parentssay, give the impression that admission is a prerogative ofthose who have a sibling in the school or those who fulfil thecriteria of alumni.

"I had applied in 22 schools in south Delhi, butcouldn''t manage to get even in one," Rahul Dhar, a disgruntledparent, writes on admissionsnursery.com, an online parentsforum.

"Does this mean, my child lost one year? Where should Igo" he asks.

Dr Supradip, a scientist who had applied in 10 schoolsfor his son''s admission this year, writes: "Nothing left toshare except a big sorry figure... Not a single school offeredmy son for nursery admission.

"My son did not get selected because he is my firstchild and I am not alumni of any school of Delhi. It''s shamefrom our side that we could not provide good school for ourfuture citizens."

Founder of the forum Sumit Vohra told PTI, "It''s notabout one or two, hundreds of parents feel dejected forfailing to get their wards admission.

"And the reason behind this problem is the flawed andarbitrary points-system devised by schools themselves thistime."

The Directorate of Education (DoE) has allowed schoolsthis year to frame their own selection criteria based on "justand rationale" means. As per DoE rules, the schools have tokeep aside 25 per cent of the seats for students belonging toeconomically weaker section (EWS).

But for the rest 75 per cent of seats, schools adopted apoints system which parents and experts say is arbitrary innature. And most of the schools have reserved 50 per cent ofthe seats meant for general category for sibling or alumni.

And the results announced by schools showed that thereis hardly anyone has been selected without having points underthese two categories. .