Parents unhappy with nursery admission verdict

Private unaided schools can evolve their own norms for nursery admissions

Schools have been asked to follow the recommendations of the 2007 Ganguly Committee. Photo: Monica Tiwari

With the Delhi High Court on Friday giving “maximum autonomy” to private unaided schools here for evolving their own norms for nursery admissions, parents are “worried” about schools misusing their authority. The schools have, however, been asked to follow the recommendations of the 2007 Ganguly Committee.

Arpit Arya, a parent, said: “Parents will now have to book seats in new-age private schools and pay whatever fee is demanded. Otherwise they might end up like me. Last year, my child failed to get a confirmed seat in any of the good schools.”

Anuradha Sharma, an advocate and mother of a three-year-old, said: “Now our little ones will now be subjected to the pressure of interviews, while parents will be forced to get hold of some source to ensure the child gets admitted.”

A Delhiite who has applied for his child’s admission this year said: “Each school has now been given complete freedom to formulate its own set of rules. A parent’s duty now is to wait for each and every school to decide the dates and the criteria. Every seat will now be awarded at the sole discretion of the school management.”

Suresh Kumar Shukla who struggled for his daughter’s admission last year added: “This will confuse parents as they will now have to go through every school’s guidelines.”

Sumit Vohra, an activist who runs a nursery admission website, said: “As per the order, the private unaided schools are constitutionally protected and empowered to govern their institutions. Now that private schools are free to devise their own methods, what is the guarantee that they will not be misusing their power by giving points such as parent working for any noble cause, children of State/national awardees, Defence and Navy services, Civil Services, vegetarians, etc.”

AAP bats for appeal

Staff Reporter adds:

Expressing fears that the verdict could mean the return of the practice of schools demanding donations, the Aam Aadmi Party demanded that the Delhi Administration should challenge the verdict in Supreme Court.

“In case private schools are finally allowed to frame their own guidelines, the process of admission will be vulnerable to manipulations based on extraneous considerations. ”

The AAP said even though some of the guidelines issued by the L-G last year were debatable, but removing them altogether will encourage the interference of private managements, politicians and other lobbies in nursery admissions.