Nursery admission woes for parents belonging to the economically weaker sections (EWS) seem to have worsened this year.
BPL card One of the many problems that these parents are facing is getting their food security card accepted as valid document proof showing their income slab, as was the case with the Below Poverty Line (BPL) card.
The Delhi Government had issued food security cards to nearly 10 lakh households in the Capital this year. However, many private schools have refused to accept it as valid documentation.
Parents distressed
A distressed parent said: “I went to many schools for my son’s admission today [on Monday]. When they asked for a document to prove that I belong to the EWS category, I gave them my food security card. However, they refused to accept it. My son’s future will be affected if schools do not take accept the food security card as proof.”
Another parent added: “A food security card also proves that a person’s annual income is up to Rs.1 lakh, which is the eligibility criteria for EWS category. However, many schools are refusing to accept the food security card.”
Another problem that the EWS and Disadvantaged Groups (DG) applicants are facing is unavailability of proper channel of information.
The Directorate of Education (DoE) of the Delhi Government has not provided any helpline number for applicants belonging to this category.
Also, none of the schools have made EWS category forms available online. This means that a parents will have to go to each and every school to collect the nursery admission form.
Lawyer activist Khagesh Jha said: “When general category forms are available made online, why are EWS category forms also available online? Have schools assumed that people from this category do not access the Internet?”
“While clubbing EWS and DG applicants, they should have realised that the category will now include more than just those whose annual income is up to Rs.1 lakh. It will also include people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes falling in the disadvantaged category, and differently-abled students. Options of both online and offline forms should have been given to all the categories,” he added.
