Delhi govt contemplating skipping nursery admissions: Official

New Delhi: The Delhi government is contemplating skipping nursery admissions in view of the Coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

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“The government is discussing this idea if we can skip nursery admission next year and then allow schools to admit students both in nursery and kindergarten (KG) for the academic session 2022-23. We already have a batch of students (who started nursery in April this year) who have never met their teachers face-to-face and only attend online classes. We will do injustice with another group of students if admissions are held next year,” said the official, who wished to remain anonymous.

The official added that the education department will soon discuss this idea with private schools across the city. “We will take any decision only after consulting with all the stakeholders including schools, parents, and experts,” the official said.

Despite several attempts, Delhi education Minister Manish Sisodia did not respond to calls and texts sent for comment.

Every year, the process for admissions to entry-level classes – nursery, kindergarten, and class 1 – begins between November and December, for over 2 lakh seats in around 1,700 private schools in Delhi.

Principles of various private schools in Delhi have said that if the government decides to skip nursery admissions it would lead to “loss of learning” among a generation of students.

Amita Wattal, principal of Springdales School, Pusa Road, said a group of principals will soon seek an appointment with the education minister to discuss the issue. “How can we keep lakhs of students away from formal education for a year? You can’t take a very important learning period from an entire group of children. The entire year cannot just disappear,” she said.

Alka Kapur, principal of Modern Public School in Shalimar Bagh, said, “By getting their children enrolled in schools, the parents can, at the very least, introduce them to formal education. Even if they cannot attend the schools physically, they will have the option to learn online.”

“The pandemic has made it quite evident that we will be relying on technology for disseminating education in the future, and the sooner children are introduced to this hybrid way of teaching, the better they will fare in the long run. Also, with the vaccine, things may begin to improve soon. Imagine if the pandemic begins subsiding by the June –July 2021, the entire year would go waste if the nursery admissions are cancelled,” she said.

Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu School in Rohini, said, “If the government is thinking we can directly take students to KG next next year, how will we bridge the learning gap? The pandemic has already disrupted the teaching-learning process. What will we do with our teachers and infrastructure?’ she said.

The Delhi parents association also opposed the move. “With such consideration, the government is acknowledging that online education is a farce. But instead of completely scrapping the admission process, the government should enrol students in private schools by submitting a minimum admission fee but do not charge any monthly fees from these students till the schools reopen. It will be a win-win situation for everyone,” said Aprajitha Gautam, president of the association.