High Charges For Nursery Forms Flummox Parents

GURGAON: Parents seeking admission for their children to nursery classes have alleged that they have to buy admission forms at exorbitant rates — Rs 2,000 or higher — despite the low to poor chances of getting selected for admission in many schools.

“In one school, I noticed that all candidates selected in the final list stay within a radius of 5 km of the school. Why then do they even accept applications from those who stay 12-13 km away?” asked Vijay Sharma, a parent who lives in Palam Vihar.

Sonia Aggarwal, an IT professional, said, “I bought the admission form of this school for Rs 1,000, but it was turned down when I submitted it.” Similarly, my friends applied at 3-4 schools and got selected nowhere. Why should we spend so much money on just the application process when the final outcome comes to a naught?”
The practice of selling admission prospectus at exorbitant rates stems from the lack of regulations in Gurgaon.

In Delhi, no school can force applicants to buy prospectus, while an admission form doesn’t cost more than Rs 25. “In absence of any regulatory body in Gurgaon, there are no fixed charges for nursery admissions forms. We have seen schools change rules midway after selling the forms. In Delhi, no school can sell the form for more than Rs 25, while the price of prospectus varies between Rs 100 and Rs 300 and that too is optional. But in Gurgaon, when the school does not disclose the criteria earlier, why are they selling the forms at this high price?” said Sumit Vohra, who runs an online portal — admissionsnursery.com — a platform for the admission seekers.

School authorities, however, say the allegation by parents is a bit of an exaggeration. While most schools admit there is no criteria for buying a form, they disagree that it’s done to sell “expensive prospectus”.
Schools in Gurgaon claim it is done to provide equal opportunity to all parents.

Anita Makkar, principal of HDFC School, said, “We follow a points-based system. Candidates who live far off will surely score less than those who stay close by, but we can’t deny the former an opportunity to vie for getting shortlisted.”

Sudha Goel, director of Scottish High International School, said, “We sell forms for Rs 2,000 that includes a CD, brochure and prospectus. But if the number of forms we sell exceeds the number of seats, we inform parents the chances of their wards getting selected is grim.”

Anjali Nagpal, principal of Blue Bells School in Sector 10, said, “We never say ‘no’ at the time of selling forms except in the cases when the child’s age is less than the minimum threshold.”

News Source- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/High-charges-for-nursery-forms-flummox-parents/articleshow/48831337.cms

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