Parents wait outside the school in Chandigarh before the draw for nursery admissions began on Monday. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)
Written by Oindrila Mukherjee
The first draw for entry-level admissions to Saint Kabir Public School, Sector 26, in the city on Monday got over in 30 minutes, which led to protests by some of the parents. They claimed that the draw takes at least two hours in other schools.
A parent Nidhi, who came for her daughter’s admission, said the process was over by the time she reached. “The authorities did not put the slips in the container in front of the parents whereas other schools do that. So, we asked them to show us each and every slip that went in for the draw to ensure that there were no discrepancies,” said the PSPCL employee from Dhanas.
The school authorities, however, claimed that their procedure was transparent and the container with slips was kept under lock and key.
Principal Lt Col Rattanbir Singh said they ensured that the parents went back satisfied. “We have showed them the slips with their wards’ names. We also got them to sign the slips, so that there is no controversy later,” he said.
The school has 90 seats for Nursery, with 20 per cent (18 seats) reserved for Sikh minority. It has three sections that admit 30 students each. Under the general category, they give preference to siblings, alumni and staff. The school received 1,344 applications.
“This year, however, we gave out 14 seats for minority students as we got only 44 applications. So, we shifted four seats to the general category. We gave out 31 seats under sibling cases, 10 for alumni and 35 to the rest of the general category,” added the principal.
The principal further said many police officers preferred to send their kids to the school due to its proximity to Police Lines. There were at least three woman police officers present at the draw.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Asha Devi, had submitted her son Avnish’s application under general category. Deputed at Sector-26 police station, Asha was at Republic Day parade practice when the draw was underway. She said, “I am satisfied and relieved at the same time. My husband, who is an Armyman, was here for the draw. I rushed here after taking permission from DSP sir. I am happy that my son will attend a good school. It’s close to where we live and the infrastructure is great here. I want him to become an IPS officer and believe that this school will prepare him well for that.”
All selected students were issued acknowledgment slips immediately. According to the school’s website, the admission formalities must be completed on any working day between January 16 and February 10 from 9am to noon. The principal said there will be no extension of the deadline and the seat will be considered forfeited if parents do not finish admission formalities within the deadline.
Draws in other schools
St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, and SGGS Collegiate Public School, Sector 26, will conduct their draw on Tuesday. Prominent schools such as Delhi Public School, Sector 40, will conduct draw for its 113 seats in Nursery on Thursday.
Strawberry Field World School, Sector 26, (120 seats in Upper KG) and St Xavier’s School, Sector 44, (180 seats in Nursery) will conduct draws on Friday.
Bhavan’s Vidyalaya, Sector 33, that received the highest number of applications for 100 seats in Nursery, will hold the draw on Saturday.