Single parents in a fix over nursery admissions
By IANSTuesday, January 4, 2011
NEW DELHI - Lack of clarity on the points distribution system for nursery admissions has created confusion among many parents in the capital, especially single mothers.
“Single parent only means ‘widow/widower’ to the schools. There is no mention of divorced women or those who have adopted a child, said a baffled Ritika Maheshwari (name changed), a single mother who had come to fill the admission form for her son at Delhi Public School in R.K. Puram in south Delhi.
Most of the schools in the capital have mentioned ‘widow/widower’ in brackets for single parent, not specifying provisions for single or divorced mothers.
“Even if a woman is divorced or has adopted a child, she can get an affidavit from the court. We are accepting that, said Vandana Puri, principal of Salwan Public Schol in central Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar.
“It’s the proximity or the distance of parent’s residence from the school that stands first on most of the school guidelines. Other parameters may vary from school to school,” added Puri.
After a nod by the directorate of education (DOE) to go ahead with the point-based admission system, the schools are playing by their own rules, parents say.
Under the points system, students will be selected on the basis of points scored by them and their parents. They would be awarded points for various parameters decided by the school, including proximity of their home to the school and siblings studying in the institution.
“The DOE should have played a role in the admission procedure even after deciding on the points system. This has become a private affair as they are coming up with their own rules,” said another angry parent Niharika Biswas, queuing up outside the Ramjas School in Pusa Road.
“You will see long queues and anxious parents everywhere. Parents have their preference for a particular school but then you can’t blame them for all the rush, Biswas added.
Delhi’s Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely had recently mentioned that the parents can complain to the DOE in case of any problems.
However, DOE officials were not available to confirm whether they had received any complaints.
The sale of admission forms started Jan 1 and will be on till Jan 15. The final admission list is expected to be out by Feb 1 for most schools.
