Nursery admissions: MCD schools turn away poor students

These problems have been reported from schools in Rohini, Yamuna Vihar, Seelampur and Patparganj.

Poor parents applying for nursery admission in schools run by the municipal corporations in the city are having a tough time.

Parents buy admission forms for nursery for their children at Air Force Bal Bharti School at Lodhi Road in New Delhi. (Saumya Khandelwal/ HT file photo)

While some schools are telling the parents applying under the Economically Weaker Section/Disadvantaged (EWS/ DG) category to apply online as mandated by the Delhi government, others are turning applicants away saying admissions would take place in April.

These problems have been reported from schools in Rohini, Yamuna Vihar, Seelampur and Patparganj.

“I had gone to the school near my house and they told me to apply online. However, when I went and checked online, the schools cannot be found. I am really worried what to do,” said Shikha Sharma, who lives in a slum at Yamuna Vihar. She had gone to fill the form for her daughter.

The Directorate of Education (DoE) circular mentioned that under EWS admission schedule, the schools up to elementary level recognised by DoE under RTE Act, 2009, schools up to primary level recognised by local authorities and schools up to primary level recognised by DoE under RTE Act, 2009 and which are now regulated by local authorities will not be a part of the online admission process.

Another parent, Bun ty Kumar, who lives in Amar Jyoti Colony, Rohini, who had gone to an MCD school, was told that admissions will take place in April.

Though these schools were asked to follow the offline process, the schools had to stick to the general nursery admission schedule as per the government notification.

Municipal officials, however, asserted that the schools will have to follow the Delhi government norms.

“The DoE is a regulatory authority and gover ns all schools in the city, whether it be recognized by DoE, or MCD or NDMC. The schools cannot turn away parents they will have to follow the rule,” said Harsh Malhotra, Mayor, East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC).