06 April,2011 06:45 AM IST | | Kranti Vibhute
NGO to file petition against pre-primary schools that sell 10 times more forms than their capacity, asks for admission forms to be sold online
An educational NGO is all set to file a petition in Bombay High Court today to bring transparency in the pre-primary admission process of private schools, which allegedly fleece parents by selling forms 10 times more than the number of students they can accommodate.
Already, the kindergartens have come under criticism from various sections of the society for a host of reasons, including overcharging fees from parents, running without licences, and not implementing the 25 per cent reservation norm as mandated by the Right to Education Act.
MiD DAY had reported about these in its earlier editions ('NGO to govt: Cancel pre-primary admissions', February 11)
Parents filling a form for nursery admission
The NGO, Forum for Fairness in Education, claims that a school sells around 1,000 forms to students, "well aware of the fact that it can barely accommodate only 80 of them, only for making money".
"Such malpractices could be stopped if pre-primary admission forms are sold online and a governing body formed to keep a tab on schools selling forms disproportionate to their intake capacity.
This will save parents a lot of troubles who end up spending a huge sum of money on buying forms from different schools, but in most cases, fail to get their wards enrolled in any of the institutes," Jayant Jain, president of the NGO, said, adding this would not only save time, but money as well.
The petition also demands that these schools should stop taking capitation fees from parents and provide 25 per cent reservation to students from humble financial background as per the RTE Act, 2009.
Emboldened by the overwhelming support from educationists, teachers, parents and other voluntary organisations, the Forum members have decided to sit on a fast-unto-death agitation from today at Azad Maidan to mount pressure on the government.
"We will also champion the cause of teachers who are yet to get the benefits of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. We also demand that the private schools should stop victimising teachers by adopting hire and fire policy," said Jain.
Ashish Biwalkar, guardian of a pre-primary student, said, "My brother and sister-in-law were disappointed when their child failed to get admission in a pre-primary school.
The school denied the three-and-a-half-year-old kid admission saying that he was little older for pre-primary-level. If forms are made available online, it not only save parents' time but their money also."
Shanti Gade (name changed on request), a parent of a three-year-old child, said, "My husband and I had to take leave from our offices to buy an admission form for our child.
Since we bought only one form, we were skeptical about his admission as schools always sell forms disproportionate to its intake capacity and end up dying admission to 90 per cent applicants."
Schools dismissive
But the city schools have already dismissed the NGO's idea as unfeasible.u00a0 Raj Aloni, Ramsheth Thakur Public School, Kharghar, CBSE, said, "There are hundreds of schools in and around the city and it seems practically impossible to bring all of them under one governing body which will regulate selling of forms online."
Abha Dharampal, principal of Utpal Shanghvi International School, agreed. "The idea doesn't sound good, as the criteria to select students will be different fro different pre-primary schools."
