Since the December 18 guidelines approved by the lieutenant-Governor came into force, there has been a spate of complaints against schools due to the confusion which prevailed regarding certain parameters and the points fixed. While the schools which stepped out of line were showcaused by the DoE, others fell in line. However, there are still some schools that continue to indulge in malpractices and are a cause of worry for parents.
Besides the confusion regarding the measurement of neighbourhood distance and eligibility of alumni and transfer cases, the parents are also perplexed about the lottery system using which the schools will fill the remaining vacant seats and plan to approach the Education Officers concerned, with this problem. “The guidelines were to help the parents out but they remain open-ended with no specific clarity. lottery system sounds good but who will carry out the procedure and what is the credibility of this systemIJ How do we know the schools are not cheatingIJ” asked Suhani, a worried first-time parent.
Agreeing with the concerns of parents, Vohra said, “There are no guidelines in place about how to carry out the lottery system and in whose presence. Parents are worried that schools may get unfair because usually they do it in the presence of a few members of the Parent Teachers’ Association. This makes other parents insecure about their child, which is natural.” Forms will be available from January 15.