Education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely on Tuesday said the criteria for nursery admissions for next years batch will not be very different from those followed last year. He said last years experiment with a new point system for admissions worked quite well and the government has not received complaints strong enough for it to overhaul the system. We did receive suggestions from some quarters,including the suggestion that applicants with alumnus parents should not be given extra weightage. The point is,we cannot please everyone, Lovely told Newsline. The minister said the government will announce the admission schedule and guidelines for schools to follow by late December or early January. He said the criteria will be notified at the right time,otherwise schools take undue benefit and charge tuition fee from parents months in advance. Parents who Newsline spoke to said reforms in nursery admissions envisaged under the RTE wont take shape if the government decides to go ahead with last years guidelines. Meenal Agarwal,a resident of West Delhi said,her son is a case in point to illustrate the discrimination meted out to several students under the current system. If the same criteria persists, I will lose out on many grounds. West Delhi does not have many renowned schools,plus,I have a son. There are no special points for boys in any schools, she said. Another parent,Gagandeep Kaur Saini was worried about the uncertainty that prevails. I am seeking admission for my child this year and I hope that last years confusion regarding nursery admissions is not repeated. L V Sehgal,President of the National Progressive Schools Alliance,said last years confusion was caused by the fact that the criteria and notifications were announced very late, If last years criteria will be repeated this year also then there should be no confusion at all, he said.
