Delhi Lieutenant Governor relaxes rules for admission to nursery

NEW DELHI: Reviewing an earlier order regarding nursery admission in private unaided schools in Delhi, Lieutenant Governor today relaxed the distance criteria for students from six kilometre to eight kilometre, giving parents more choices of schools for their wards.

However, there was no review of the management quota which was abolished by the LG in his December 18 guidelines for admission to nursery in private unaided recognised schools of the capital.

School associations have been demanding more autonomy in selection process including freedom to admit students under the management quota.

"It has been decided to enhance the outer limit of six kilometre kept for the neighbourhood criteria to eight kilometre. While six kilometres limit would satisfy the bulk of the requirement, some parents had raised concerns on narrowly missing the criteria because they had identified specific schools.

"Any further increase would vitiate the concept of neighbourhood schools, and increase the travel time for small children considerably," stated the order.

The guidelines issued by LG Najeeb Jung on December 18 gave 70 points out of 100 in the open category seats under the "neighbourhood' criteria.

The LG, however, discarded the suggestions to have slabs in the neighbourhood criteria owing to limited seats for admission.

"Slabs with more weightage for shorter areas would deny most children from admission," the order stated.

The LG's order did not review the management quota. "There is possibility of misuse of this quota and this cannot be accepted in a society that seeks to provide equal opportunity in education for all that includes the poorest of poor and the weakest of the weak. The intent is to ensure to the maximum extent possible that admission for children would be in a transparent and fair number," the order mentioned.