Delhi government has said that it wants a common admission norm for private schools that received land at concessional rates from the Central land-owning agency.

New Delhi: Admissions for nursery in Delhi schools will begin from Monday, even though the government is yet to release separate guidelines for around 298 schools built on the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land. The guidelines are expected to come in a week’s time.

The Delhi government has said that it wants a common admission norm for private schools that received land at concessional rates from the Central land-owning agency. Barring admissions under the economically weaker section (EWS) category, private schools in Delhi will begin admissions for entry-level classes from Monday. Most schools have uploaded their admission criteria on Sunday.

Parents will have time until January 23 to fill in the forms. As per the Directorate of Education (DoE), all schools will have to earmark 25 per cent of the seats for children belonging to the EWS category students. Schools will also have to stick to the admission schedule set by the DoE. Schools that flout the DoE norms may invite government action. All schools are supposed to upload the admission criteria on their notice boards and websites. If there are complaints regarding the point-based admission criteria, parents can write or make phone calls to the concerned school administration between February 16 and February 18, i.e. after the first list of selected students is announced on February 15.

The DoE has asked all the schools to upload their admission criteria and point allocation on its website. The schools, which are yet to declare its admission criteria, are also allowed to begin registration of students. Schools have asked not to charge more than Rs 25 for admission forms. Also, buying school prospectus is optional for parents. Some schools are planning to set up help desks to assist parents with the online and offline registration process.

However, for most schools, admission criteria are same as last year. Bluebells International School, Vasant Vihar, and Tagore International School, East of Kailash, have defined “distance” in terms of area where school transport is available. The Indian School, however, has retained last year’s parameters regarding distance and other criteria., sibling (of enrolled child), and first-born child.