Nursery admissions: What HC order on management quota means
On January 6 this year, Delhi government identified and scrapped 62 such parameters based on which schools were selecting students for admission.
Admission in nursery or pre-school is based on the points scored by a child on different parameters set by individual schools. For last few years, schools have enjoyed autonomy in deciding the criteria for admission though Directorate of Education could intervene if a parameter was discriminatory or unfair.
On January 6 this year, Delhi government identified and scrapped 62 such parameters based on which schools were selecting students for admission. The move led to panic among schools and parents as the application process had already begun by then.
The biggest blow to schools, however, was the removal of management quota under which students were admitted directly by the management as per their discretion. Schools reserved 20% seats under this quota. 5% quota for children of the staff was also done away with though schools could make it a criterion and award points for it.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal called this quota a scam and a way to ‘loot people’. The government also said that the number of seats open to general category shrunk because of this quota.
Schools challenged the order in Delhi high court following which the court asked the schools to come up with 10-11 criteria they would like to keep.
Impact on nursery admissions
The application process started on January 1 and closed on January 22. The first list of selected children is supposed to be uploaded on school websites on February 15.
The schedule of admissions has remained unaffected till now.
However, removal of management quota meant more seats were available for children applying in the general category.
Read more | HC stays AAP govt’s order to scrap management quota
Seat break-up
25% seats reserved for the economically weaker section under the Right to Education Act 2009
20% seats reserved in the management quota
5% seats reserved for the children of staff
50% seats left for the general category
Some schools reserve additional seats aligned with their ideology thereby shrinking the general seats further. For example, a school in west Delhi has 102 seats. But only 48 seats are available for admission after meeting the admission criteria. 26 seats are reserved for the EWS, 25 for management and staff and three for children with special needs.
