Nursery admissions: Parents relieved by court’s decision

Thursday came as a relief to Sangeeta Sharma, a housewife, who had run from one school to another and waited in long queues to get her four-year-old child admitted to an educational institution. She says that since the Delhi High Court has now finally lifted the stay on nursery admissions, she has some hope of seeing her child in a good school soon.

Clearing a prolonged period of uncertainty for some parents, the court said that those who have managed to secure a seat in the first draw of lots can assume that their admission has been confirmed. Remarking on the court’s verdict Sangeeta says, ‘I was initially distraught and confused when I heard of the court’s stay on the allotment of the first draw. I had begun to think that since my child has secured a seat, it will not be much of a hassle now. I am a little comforted by the court’s decision now. I think the decision is quite fair.’

For the past few years, nursery admissions have always been riddled with confusion and chaos but this time the entire process has hauled up due to multiple delays and entanglements. The admission process has been stalled at least four times over the last month.

Puja Kakkar, a distressed parent commenting on the entire process said, ‘We have done everything we could do to get our child admitted. We have even gone for dharnas at Jantar Mantar to protest against the manner in which the admissions are being conducted. Me and my husband, we’ve been paying huge fees to the lawyers but to no avail. We have been suffering mentally and monetarily since February due to these unrealistic guidelines.’

In February this year the court had ordered the elimination of transfer points and later ordered a fresh draw of lots. The parents whose wards had already secured a seat had challenged this order.