Despite Delhi Government’s directive to put nursery admissions on hold as the matter is now with the Supreme Court, most schools across the Capital are going ahead with the admission process. Schools, under the National Progressive Schools Conference and others, which had announced their admission schedules, said that they can’t delay the process over "assumptions" and will release their admission forms online and at school counters from Saturday.
After the High Court on December 10 asked schools to go-ahead with admissions as per their own guidelines, most schools had decided to start admissions on December 20. However, on Friday the Directorate of Education filed a Special leave Petition in the Supreme Court against the HC’s order.
Since the Supreme Court is closed till January 5, an advocate on behalf of the directorate sent a letter to the Schools Action Committee advising them to put admission process on hold to avoid later inconveniences. Officials from the committee, however, said that since schools had got go-ahead from the High Court, they would not stop admissions.
While this can be a moment of relief for parents, it can also work against them if the Supreme Court decides to put a stay on the HC’s order and declares all admissions done before that would be considered null and void.
Meanwhile, schools like Kulachi Hansraj Model School in Ashok Vihar, Mount Abu Public School in Rohini, Springdales School on Pusa Road, Bal Bharti Public School and the Indian School will start admissions from Saturday, while Cambridge Primary School in New Friends Colony will begin the admission process on December 26. Gyan Bharati in Saket is schedule for January 21.
On November 28, the Delhi High Court had quashed the nursery admission guidelines issued by the lieutenant-Governor last year stating that the Government’s decision to set guidelines with neighbourhood criteria as the deciding factor was "neither procedurally proper nor rational".
Under the earlier system, out of a total 100 points, 70 were given if the child lives in the neighbourhood of the school, additional 20 were given if a sibling is studying there, five points more if either parent is an alumnus and another five points in an inter-State transfer case.
Draw of lots were held at each point level. Thereafter, the Government had on February 27 issued an order abolishing the five points that were being awarded in inter-State transfer cases. Now the schools are coming out with their own guidelines.