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Chandigarh: Government schools’ entry level admissions fail to kick off
Helpdesks had been set up at most of the government schools in Chandigarh, but parents were forced to go back as the website is yet to be functional
Though the education department had announced that the entry level admissions in government schools will start from Tuesday, parents who wanted to enrol their kids on the admission portal were unable to do so as it wasn’t functional yet.
Helpdesks had been set up at most of the schools, but parents were forced to go back as the website is yet to be functional.
At GMSSS, Sector 35, a parent was asked to come back again on Wednesday. As per sources, schools were first told that the website would become functional by the afternoon but were later told to wait till the evening.
UT director school education Harsuhinderpal Singh Brar said that final details of the admission policy were approved in the evening after which the site will become function by Wednesday. He added that ample time will be given to ensure that all those who want to apply can do so.
The maximum number of parents came to periphery schools. At Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Dhanas, around 30 parents showed up for the admissions on Tuesday. Before this, around 57 parents have enquired about admissions as of now. Principal Seema Devi said that they had taken down the contact details of all parents and will reach out to them once the admission portal goes online.
While there was some confusion regarding whether these forms can be filled from outside, the department has clarified that these forms can only be filled at helpdesks at government schools and will not be accessible from outside. This will be done for free. A principal of a school said that they should be able to manage with two teachers per school manning these helpdesks.
The UT education department has announced the schedule for EWS and disadvantaged groups admissions and has also released a detailed policy for entry level admissions in government schools. Parents can start filling forms for EWS admissions from January 10, 2024, while for government schools it will start from December 27.
For EWS admissions, students whose parents have an annual income of less than ₹1.5 lakh will be eligible for this. They will need an income certificate issued by the UT deputy commissioner.
Applicants will need to upload documents, including proof of date of birth, residential proof, proof of EWS or DG category and income certificate. They can only fill in the forms in private non-minority schools or government schools and not from outside. This will be done free of cost.
Admission will be done based on distance as under Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) Act. Applicants can choose up to 15 private schools in terms of the area of the neighbourhood. Private non-minority schools have to be onboarded for the centralised admission portal from December 27 to January 9, 2024. Parents can start filling forms from January 10 onwards while the department is likely to take a decision separately over minority schools which don’t participate in the centralised EWS admissions.
