Delhi nursery admissions: In some schools, points for families affected by Covid

In the ongoing nursery admission process across private schools in Delhi, some schools are offering points to families affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Private schools in the city are currently in the process of receiving applications for general admissions to their entry-level classes — nursery, KG or class I. For this, schools are allowed to choose the admission criteria and applicants receive points for fulfilling different criteria. Some of the common criteria for allotting points are proximity to the school, children having siblings in the school or parents who are alumni of it, girl children and first-born children.

Adding to these criteria, three private schools in more remote parts of the city have also decided to offer points to families affected by Covid this year.

Goodwill Public School, Uttam Nagar, offers 50 points for proximity, 10 points for a sibling studying in the school, 15 points for children of single parents, 15 points for girl child, and 10 points for ‘Covid- affected people’.

Rose Valley Public School in Nangloi is also providing 10 points for “war victims/corona victims”. “We have all been badly affected badly by Covid and the lockdown…We thought let us offer some kind of help to families affected by it. The points we are offering are for families which have had Covid cases,” said school manager Prem Chand Deswal.

Mata Daan Kaur Public School is offering 10 points for children of “Covid fighters”, specifying police, doctors and healthcare workers.

Even as all schools in Delhi are required to reserve 3% of their entry-level seats for children with special needs (CWSN), several schools are also offering points in their general admission to differently abled children as well.

Admissions to 22% seats — reserved for children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups — and 3% seats — reserved for CWSN — are conducted centrally by the Directorate of Education, and schooling for these children is funded by the state government.

For instance, at Prince Public School in Mehrauli, in addition to points for neighbourhood, children with siblings in the school and parents who are alumni, children of single parents and girl children, it also has 10 points for “handicapped” children.

“Very few of those who apply for the centrally conducted admissions get through the draw of lots. We have these points in our general seats so that more differently abled children get a chance,” said principal Shailendra Upadhyay.

While several other schools, like the Apeejay Schools, Green Fields School, the branches of Guru Harkrishan Public School and many smaller schools, are offering points to differently abled children, Modern Perfect Public School in Tigri and Gyan Jyoti Vidya Niketan, Anupam Garden, are also offering points for children with differently abled parents. Modern Perfect Public School chairman Surendra Kumar said this is in line with the school’s social welfare outlook.