Delhi nursery admissions begin; parents scramble for points clarity

The staggered disclosure of criteria has unsettled parents, as many schools published their frameworks promptly while others have not yet uploaded them

Most major private unaided schools gave priority to proximity in their points-based selection criteria as the admission cycle for nursery, pre-primary, and Class 1 in Delhi’s for the 2026-27 academic session began on Friday. Applications will open on December 4 and close on December 27.

The Directorate of Education (DoE) released the broader entry-level admission schedule last week and schools are now uploading their individual 100-point frameworks. (HT Archive)

The Directorate of Education (DoE) released the broader entry-level admission schedule last week and schools are now uploading their individual 100-point frameworks. Most schools assigned points across various parameters, including sibling enrolment, alumni status of parents, gender or single-child considerations, and staff affiliation, but gave particular weightage to the distance between an applicant’s home and the school. Meanwhile, parents associations questioned the staggered disclosure of criteria, urging a single-window system to be set up.

Mount Abu Public School in Rohini has placed the heaviest weight on proximity, allotting 80 points for distance, followed by 10 for siblings, five for a girl or single-child applicant, and five for children of alumni or staff. “Distance continues to carry the highest weightage, followed by sibling and alumni and staff links,” said principal Jyoti Arora, who added that the school extends additional preference to girls and single girl children. “The intent is to advance gender equity and encourage families to empower their daughters through quality education.”

Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, has also given highest priority to neighbourhood proximity for nursery admission, followed by siblings and alumni criteria. “The neighbourhood category carries maximum weightage as proximity ensures ease of access, safety, and stronger community linkage for young learners,” principal Alka Kapur said. She added, “Sibling and alumnus links are weighted next, as family association with the school is a significant indicator of continuity and engagement.”

Other leading schools such as Venkateshwar International School, The Shri Ram School, and Sanskriti School have similarly prioritised proximity and family-linked preferences in their 100-point matrices.

By contrast, St Michael’s Senior Secondary School has allotted 40 points to practising Christians, with 30 points for neighbourhood proximity, 20 for alumni links, and 10 for siblings. The school stipulates that both parents must actively practise the faith to claim points in this category. It further requires parents to demonstrate knowledge of “basic catechism” for verification, adding, “Christian parents are expected to know basic catechism to prove that they are practising Christians.” To be sure, St Michael’s is a recognised Christian minority institution

The staggered disclosure of criteria has unsettled parents, as many schools published their frameworks promptly while others have not yet uploaded them. The DoE’s November 22 directive specified the start date for publishing points criteria but did not set a final deadline, leaving parents checking individual school websites for updates.

“The uploading process has begun, but no deadline has been set for completion. This creates unnecessary friction for parents who must continually check separate school portals for information,” said Delhi School Parents Association head Aparajita Gautam. She added that a centralised DoE-managed admissions dashboard could have prevented the widespread confusion. “The government should adopt a single-window system so points criteria and age norms for all schools are listed under one unified head,” she said.

She also underscored inconsistencies in age requirements. While the DoE has directed schools to adhere to the 3+ years age criterion as set out in the National Education Policy 2020, some schools have still listed a minimum age of four. “This only compounds the confusion,” Gautam said.