Revision as of 18:04, 23 February 2016

Nursery admissions: Guidelines

The Times of India, Dec 10 2015

Guidelines for admission to nursery schools in Delhi, as in 2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Dec 10 2015

No clarity on rent deeds as proof

The directorate of education's failure in including rent agreements as valid document for residence proof has led to confusion among parents. A large number of parents, whose children will be vying for nursery seats, stay on rent and they have been left wondering whether the documents would be acceptable. “We generally accept rent agreement or a bank account passbook with the address on it as residence proof. We are quite flexible in this regard,“ said Tania Joshi, principal, The Indian School. In the past, the DoE suggested the documents.

“I live in a rented house and have gas connection and rent agreement documents.But will they be accepted as valid address proof ?“ asked a parent on admissionsnursery com. The website owner, Sumit Vohra, said about a quarter of his users live on rent.

“Not all schools accept the rent deed as proof. As per convention, registered rent deeds that are six months old should be added to the list of valid documents,“ he said. Many parents choose to move to ar eas rich in schools so they have more options for admitting their wards.

On the draw of lots, the guidelines say it “shall be conducted in a transparent manner, preferably in presence of parents.“ Vohra points out that in past years presence of parents or videography was mandatory . Making this optional gives schools permission to not allow parents during the draw. The debate on upper age limit has been on for years. There will be confusion on this too as some schools include age in their criteria and allot points to it.

The guidelines are for general category and private unaided schools. Though the circular doesn't specify this, the DoE has clarified that it will be applicable to minority institutions as well.

The decision on economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups has been welcomed by schools, though lawyer-activist Khagesh Jha maintains it is discriminatory .“Let the government handle it. Especially after last year, I don't want any problems,“ Joshi said. Delhi Police had cracked down on fake EWS admissions last year and even arrested a school principal.

Admission to nursery schools in Delhi: The issues, 2013-Jan 2016; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India Jan 8 2016

2016 Feb: HC restores management quota

The Times of India, Feb 05 2016

Management quota back as HC stays AAP govt's decision  The Delhi high court stay ed the AAP government's decision to scrap management quota in nursery admissions on Thursday , calling it a balancing act “whereby discretion of private unaided schools was minimised, but not altogether abolished“. The court said the government's circular staying the quota was “without any authority“ and in conflict with a 2007 order by the LG. The high court's interim order, unless superseded by a larger bench or Supreme Court, is likely to govern nursery admissions this year, reports Abhinav Garg.

In a partial relief, the court endorsed the city government's elimination of 51 of 62 admission criteria, saying “there's nothing in the (remaining) 11 criteria which would show that they are unreasonable...(andor) can lead to maladministration“.