Schools openly violate guidelines, make rules on whims, say parents

Two schools in the city are violating norms laid down by the Directorate of Education in admitting nursery students. This, despite warnings by the DoE that it will punish erring schools.

While one school is  making it mandatory for parents to accompany their children for an ‘informal interaction’, the other school is admitting students on first-come first-serve basis.

“The school has asked parents to bring their children in the first week of February to verify documents submitted with the form. The school officials told us that it is mandatory to attend an informal interaction,” said software engineer Sarika Atri, who is seeking admission for her three-year-old daughter.

Atri and several other parents who bought forms for New Era Public School in Rajouri Garden are anxious now.

“When we asked why we needed to bring along our children, they said they have to verify the documents. They also said the cut-off list will only come after the interaction process is over. Such screening of students is prohibited,” said Atri.

According to Sumit Vohra, founder of V R ONE, an online forum for parents seeking nursery admissions for their children, asking for interview or interaction is a violation of DoE guidelines, Right To Education (RTE) Act and the Ganguly committee report.

The aim of the report, accepted by Delhi High Court, was to abolish interview or interaction of children or parents with school authorities before admission.

Abolish interviews

The whole purpose of the point system was to abolish the interview taken by schools.
A senior official of the school said it is a “casual interaction” that they had sought, and refused to comment further.

“It is against the rules to call children for any kind of interaction with school authorities before admitting them,” Vohra added.

Another parent doubts the intentions of Colonel Satsangi’s Kiran Memorial (CSKM) Public School in Satbari in South Delhi, which is admitting students on first-come first-serve basis.

Anita Negi, mother of a three-year-old, finds the school's stance unusual. After filling the online form on January 2, she got a call from the school to get her child admitted as the school takes children on first-come first-serve basis.

“At a time when it’s a challenge to get your ward admitted in a school in nursery, a well-known school is coming up with a strange procedure. The forms are still being sold online.

“The school said it has an ‘education for all’ policy and does not follow the point system, and hence it is admitting whoever comes first,” Negi said. The school has 100 seats for nursery students.

The principal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

According to DoE guidelines, insisting on first-come first-serve admissions during the period given for sale and submission of admission forms is a violation of rules.

“This method is not legal. It is unfair as it lessens the chances of parents who missed buying the forms of that school by even a day. Schools are making rules based on their whims. And these are all DoE-recognised schools flouting the guidelines. No action has been taken against any school despite reports of flouting rules. Even the government says that it has not received any complaints,” added Vohra.

The sale of admission forms started on January 2 and it will end on 16. According to the DoE, violation of rules during nursery admissions will attract heavy penalties. The department has warned schools not to violate the guidelines.