Nursery kids without 'extra' points fail to make a cut

As a number of schools in Delhi have come out with their first list of selected candidates for nursery, it seems the kids without points under sibling or alumni criteria have almost failed to make it, at least for now.

While the trend suggests that only children with points in sibling or alumni category have managed to make it in the first list, parents allege that the selection process in many schools has been very confusing and non-transparent.

A top school in south Delhi has selected 69 students having points ranging from 85 to 65.

As per its criteria available on its website, the school has alloted 30 points for sibling, 20 for alumni, 30 points for neighbourhood, and 5 points each for children with special needs, first child or single parent. "This suggests that a child without getting points either in sibling or alumni category cannot get more than 50 points. The results show the school has given preference to the kids who fulfil one of the two criteria," says a parent whose child failed to make a cut in the first list.

"If the trend continues, I am not very hopeful that my child would get selected in future too," added a parent. The first lists of other schools also tell the same story and some have not even disclosed the points awarded to the selected students, which experts describe as an "elbow room" for future manipulation by the schools.

"The schools that have disclosed alloted points are at least transparent enough to admit they prefer kids with sibling or of alumnus. Another reputed school at Tito Marg has given 30 points each for sibling, transfer case and neighbourhood. "The school has not given any definition for 'transfer case' in its application form and it seems something fishy," says Ankur Bharatia, who has applied in the school for his child's admission.

Ashok Ganguly, the former CBSE chairman who had drafted the points system for nursery admission in Delhi in 2007, says the points system was made to make the admission process smoother for both the schools and parents. "But the way it is being manipulated, only creates more confusion. It also defeats the whole purpose for which it was developed," he says.

"Unless you make all schools follow a uniform system, such problems will continue to surface," he added. Meanwhile, some schools are being accused of offering admission on first-come-first basis, a violation of guidelines issued by the Directorate of Education. T V Subhashini, a resident of Dwaraka, says she got a call from a top school of that locality saying it is offering nursery admission on first-come-first-serve basis.