It’s that time of the year again when parents are scrambling to get their children admitted in a school, and the race to get a seat in a top private school has become highly competitive. It’s not as cut and dry as filling out an application form or paying the fee.
This admission season, several leading schools are screening candidates and conducting admission tests for entry into pre-primary classes even though it is against the law.
Children seeking admission in class one are asked to spell words, solve simple addition problems, narrate nursery rhymes and write antonyms. Some list out the topics that a student should be thorough with.
The method and the techniques differ with each school. Many conduct a ‘spot aptitude test’ followed by a second round that includes interacting with the management.
Some openly admit to conducting admission tests going so far as to publicise the dates and topics that children — in the age group of 3 years 10 months to 4 years 10 months — will have to prepare for. The duration of some of these tests are for two hours and they include several subjects.
Other schools, however, are ‘subtle’; they include tests in the interaction process.
Against the law
Parents seeking admission for their children for the 2017-2018 academic year revealed that over a dozen top schools conduct such tests despite Section 13 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act stating that no school can subject a child or his guardians to any screening procedure.
While parents are upset about their children being forced to participate in such screening processes, but they go along with the terms laid down by the management because the need to get a seat in a top school is non-negotiable.
Some chose to opt out of this race.
Shruthi R. was scouting for a school for her six-year-old son. “He went to a preschool near our house. We wanted him to just go and play games, and get used to a routine. He picked up some rhymes and alphabets too. But some of these tests are beyond what a six-year-old can comprehend,” she says.
A parent whose child was unable to clear a test for a school in south Bengaluru says, “My daughter is four years old. Even the concept of a test scares her. Although she knows the alphabets, she was not able to write them down during the test. Isn’t the whole point of enrolling a child in school so that they learn?”
Mansoor Khan, general secretary, Management of Independent CBSE Schools’ Association, says, “Besides violating the law, entrance tests demoralise students. Managements need to introspect... avoid admission tests for primary school children.”
School managements defend these tests saying it is the only way they can short-list students, as the demand is higher than the number of seats available. Several school associations have, however, been asking managements to filter students based on proximity of home and give preference to siblings of students.
An official of the Department of Public Instruction says, “The Right of Children of Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 clearly states that neither the child or his or her guardians can be subjected to any screening procedure. But it is difficult to initiate action against such schools. Parents keen on obtaining a seat in top schools do not complain about these practices.”
