The great nursery school admission circus in full swing

Schools taking advantage of confusion over minimum age; flouting norms at will

While the confusion about the age criteria for nursery school continues with the Government maintaining and supporting increasing the minimum age for admission in nursery classes from three to four years in Delhi, both schools and parents whose children are due for admission are going ahead and admitting three-plus-year-olds to nursery.

“While the Government's move to increase the age of admission to nursery is a welcome one we are not sure about when the court's verdict will come. We understand that the move is a positive step to reduce pressure on children. Since most schools are taking in children who are three plus, we have no choice but to take admission when available. Admissions to KG are very tough in Delhi as there are very few schools offering seats in KG. Many popular schools across the Capital have started calling parents for verification and informal interaction. The admission process to nursery is very much on and parents don't want to risk not getting their children admitted,” said Panwar Bhartia, who is trying to ensure that his three-year-old daughter gets a nursery seat in a Delhi school.

Noting that several schools were not even waiting for the Delhi Government dateline of announcing the first cut-off list on February 1, Sonma Gupta, another parent seeking admission for her child, said: “Several private schools have already started the admission process and are openly flouting the norms laid down by the Government. Parents, of course, are taking admission and paying the school fee to ensure that they have a seat. Some of the popular schools are complying with the guideline but several schools have started taking in students and parents are left with no choice here.”

Sumit Vohra, who has started a website to help parents seeking nursery school admission, said: “Parents whose children don't have any extra points under the sibling/alumni category are finding it very difficult to get admission into any of the popular schools in Delhi. We have received complaints from some parents about the ongoing selection process not being transparent. Several schools have not disclosed the points allotted to each student which leaves the parents confused.”