Schools ignore High Court order on admission forms

NEW DELHI, December 15: The High Court order imposing a ceiling of Rs 25 on the price of school admission forms and the protests by paren...

NEW DELHI, December 15: The High Court order imposing a ceiling of Rs 25 on the price of school admission forms and the protests by parents against the continuing practice notwithstanding, many schools are still charging amounts far in excess of the stipulated amount. An Express Newsline survey of 10 schools revealed that the only school which was following the High Court order was Summerfields School, Kailash Colony.

Mount Carmel School, Anand Niketan, offered the admission form and prospectus separately, priced at Rs 125 and Rs 100 respectively. Principal V.K. Williams, however, maintained that their admission forms costs only Rs 25 in accordance with the High Court order. “Everybody has a right to education and to applying to any school, irrespective of economic status,” he said.

Asked whether a large number of applications makes the school’s task of selecting candidates for admission difficult, Williams said: “Not really. After the initial screening for eligibility, we have a lottery system to select students.”

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Williams, however, qualified that applicants to unaided schools must consider their ability to pay the tuition fees and other miscellaneous charges.“Government-run schools charge about Rs 900 a month towards tuition fees, a significant sum. But what do they give back to the nation: a pass percentage of only 29 to 30 per cent. My school, on the other hand, charges half the amount as tuition fee, and not only is our pass percentage nearly 100 per cent, but our results are consistent.”

According to him: “And it’s public school products who make it as successful professionals, exporters, businessmen and bureaucrats. The philosophy to follow is simple: prosper and let others prosper.”

Admissions to Appejay School, Sheikh Sarai were also said to be scheduled for the next month. An application form here costs Rs 200. In its counterpart in Faridabad, however, only an application on plain paper along with documents revealing the child’s academic history was to be submitted. Another school following this procedure is Cambridge School, Srinivaspuri.At the Kulachi Hansraj Model School, Ashok Vihar, a prospectus-cum-form cost Rs 100, though its admissions are over.

New Era Public School, Mayapuri, charged Rs 150 for their admission forms. The prospectus-cum-form of Modern School, Vasant Vihar, is worth Rs 250. The principals of these schools, when contacted, were unavailable for comment.