New Delhi: Here comes a breather for parents seeking admissions for their tiny-tots in nursery schools of the capital. The Directorate of Education (DoE) has issued a circular in all schools of the capital to standardize the admission procedure at the pre-primary or nursery level.

Parents this year, have an advantage over the last year as last year the sale of admission forms started on December 15 and the last date of submission of the forms was January 7, while this year the forms can be submitted till January 15, 2010.

The other change in the regime is, in case there is a modification in the schedule from the proposed one, the school has to intimate the DoE on or before 4 p.m. on November 15, 2009 as against the earlier deadline of December 14.
The circular stood strict in its announcements stating that all the schools are ought to abide by the proposed dates of commencement and closure.

A senior officer with the DoE stated, "The schedule is meant to streamline the admission process so that it is not dragged for months. It has to be followed religiously by every school in the capital; any digression will not be accepted by the board."

Parents and teachers are happy by the intervention of the education department as it gears up for a strict timetable for the schools.

"I appreciate the stand taken by the education department very much. It will help us save our time while we hop from one school to another," said Shivani Mehta, who is seeking admission for her daughter.

Mrs. Usha Ram, principal, Laxman Public School (LPS), says, "The anxiety of the parents will ebb with the directions of the directorate if all the schools plan to abide by the move. I also do not support some of the schools who see it as intruding on their authority."

However, schools like Mahavir Jain School oppose this move and the principal Mr. S.L. Jain, who is also the ex-chairperson of National Progressive Schools Conference, says that, "Supreme Court guidelines should be adhered to in this respect. The schools should be autonomous to take such decisions and not be forced by any directive."

Most of the schools still await any official declaration to be received from the DoE.

Schools like Bal Bharti, which has branches in Gangaram Marg, Dwarka and Rohini have already started the sale of their admission forms online from October 26, stating that they have not received any notification from the DoE.