'Why can't schools have simple admission criteria?'

The Child Rights Commission has asked for revision of guidelines issued by the Delhi government

The Child Rights Commission has asked for revision of guidelines issued by the Delhi government

The categories in the criteria for nursery admissions in Delhi schools are posing new problems to the already hassled parents with each passing day.

Tough times ahead: Parents queue up to fill forms for nursery admissions. File pic

In a complaint filed with Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), a former civil servant Dr R Thakur has said that the allotment of points in 'alumni' category was an unfair criterion on part of the schools, and it violated the Right To Education (RTE) Act.

"As per the guidelines, parents' education or profession are not considered during nursery admissions, then why is it that schools should consider where the parents have studied from? While the parental education and profession category was removed from the list of admission guidelines, the alumni category was retained to justify the profiling of parents. The rule is unfair for government servants as they are posted at various places and it is not necessary that their children get educated in the same schools as they did. Repeated requests to provide rationale for the category have been met by stony silence from the administration," reads the complaint, a copy of which is with MID-DAY.

In cognizance of the complaint, the Commission has issued a notice to city schools demanding explanation of the criteria and compliance with the RTE. "We have already sent a word to the Principal Secretary, Education, Delhi Govt to view the matter," said X K Mahto, Secretary, DCPCR.u00a0 "The contents of the complaint are serious and warrant immediate action. The Commission would like the revision of the guidelines issued by the Delhi government regarding the admission of children in recognised unaided schools in the capital," read the notice issued by the Commission.

Former IPS officer Uday Sahay agrees with complainant, "I don't understand why city schools cannot go by a simple admission criteria. It is difficult for government servants posted in different parts of the country, who are constantly being transferred from one place to another, to gain any benefit from the points allotted for the alumni category. It is irresponsible on part of the governmentu00a0 as well to let the schools dominate such crucial issues," said he.

"Parents of kids in my extended family as well as neighborhood employed in bureaucratic services are facing similar problems of losing out on points in good schools due to the alumni criteria. As majority of reputed city schools have allotted 20-25 points to the alumni status of parents, it has become a rather tough situation for parents," said Rajender Kumar, Secretary, Health, Delhi Govt.

Controversy so far

The controversy over nursery admissions this year started when all the schools in the Capital were made to fall in the line with the Right Education (RTE) which makes it compulsory for them to reserve 25 per cent of the total seats for children from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). So, schools were not allowed to follow the same selection criteria as last year because that would have mean defying the RTE.
The government then came up with the guidelines saying that barring parents' qualifications and their income, schools were free to include all relevant criteria like proximity of school to students' residence, single parents, siblings who are alumni, etc in their admission criteria.
The admission process began from January 1, 2011 and will have to be completed by March 31. As per government guideline, 25 per cent of the total seats will have to be reserved for students belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) as per RTE Act and rest of the seats would be open to general category students.