Nursery admissions: Parents seek clarity on age relaxation rule

NEWDELHI:PRIVATE schools across the city saw a flurry of activity on Friday, a day after they began uploading admission criteria for entry-level classes on their websites.

The last date for submission of forms for admission to nursery, kindergarten and Class 1 in over 1,700 private, unaided and unrecognised schools is December 27.

Parents have nearly a month now to fill the application forms. Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School, Rohini said, “We generally get around 2,000 application forms every admission season. This time, there were nearly 300 registrations on the first day, out of which 200 were submitted online. We had kept our criteria simple with maximum points allocated to location (85). Most queries put forward by parents on Friday revolved around our fee structure.”

Rupa, an architect working in south Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park, who is trying for her son’s admission this year, said, “The online process has made things easier for working parents like us who don’t have to stand in queues anymore. Though, we are anxious because of the lottery system, it is good since it creates a level playing field.”

The queries raised by parents on Friday mostly revolved around documents required, eligible age, and criteria points mentioned by different schools. “Parents wanted to know which documents could be used as age proof, where they could get minority certificates and if the EWS admissions had started,” said Mayank Jain, founder of Ezyschooling, a common admission platform, which helps parents with the admission process.

Another query raised by parents was about the 30-day relaxation, which can be given by heads of schools in maximum and minimum age limits for entry-level classes. Nidhi, a south Delhi resident whose niece is vying for admission this year, said, “We did our research and came across media reports on relaxation that could be availed. However, we could not find any circular on it.”

A senior official from Directorate of Education, however, said that the circular had been made public and schools too had the necessary information.

Sumit Vohra, who runs a portal on nursery admissions, said the 30-day age relaxation period was against The Delhi School Education Act, 1973, which specifies an age limit for entry-level classes. The DOE official, however, said the matter was examined by Delhi High Court and the circular was issued as per the court’s directions.