Schools screen kids even after second list is out

This season has seen more violations of guidelines than previous four years

The BGS International Public School in Dwarka has come out with the second list for nursery admissions but the school authorities are still calling children along with their parents for interviews - in violation of the Right To Education rules. 

Experts say rules state screening of children before or after admissions is not allowed.

After speaking with BGS International as a parent of one of the selected candidates, it was discovered the school is giving admission on first-cum-first-serve basis. 

The teacher dealing with parents’ queries regarding admissions said: “Get all the documents and it will be preferable if both parents and the child are there for the interaction on February 18. If you do not get the child we might cancel your seat,” she said.

However, the principal was not available for comments. Meanwhile, Birla Vidya Niketan School in Pushp Vihar is personally calling up candidates who were not selected for personal interaction, parents alleged.

Sumanta was surprised to receive a call from the school when her daughter's name did not feature in the first list or waiting list.

The Principal’s personal assistant had called her up.

“When I visited the school, a queue of parents was being guided to a closed room for an 'interview' with the principal. Since my daughter was not accompanying me, I was denied entry,” said Sumanta.

She said, “The school authorities said the principal wanted to meet my daughter and ask a few questions. Another parent, who came out of the interview, said there was a demand for donations.”

She has not received any response to her e-mail to the principal seeking an explanation.However, the school authorities denied these allegations saying they are following nursery admission guidelines.

Sumit Vohra, who runs www.admissionsnursery.com, a portal with over 40,000 members, explained that schools can be punished for committing such violations. 

“These are not the only schools as for 15 days I have been getting complaints against several schools regarding screening of children. I am amazed to see that schools are calling three and four- year-old children for interviews even after admission,” he said. 

“This year a maximum number of cases of violation of admission guidelines have come up compared to last four years. I hope the Directorate of Education will take punitive action against erring schools as there are some established schools which have been following guidelines,” he added.