Nursery entry as per HC panel proposals

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has ruled that nursery admissions for present academic year will happen as per the recommendations of the Ashok Ganguly Committee.

The schools have been given one week's time to outline their objections and suggestions about the Ashok Ganguly Commitee report to the High Court.

The High Court has also stated that in case schools do not follow the recommendations, they will have to keep the seats vacant as they will not be allowed to admit students with any other process of admission.

The next date of hearing in the High Court is November 21, 2006.

The move comes after the Delhi HC ruled in December last year that the practice of interviewing prospective nursery students should be discontinued.

Schools in Delhi were asked to come up with effective suggestions for admission in schools. However, not satisfied with the workable alternative proposed by some private schools, the High Court formed the Ashok Ganguly Committee.

The five-member committee is headed by CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly and its job is to come up with alternative suggestions for nursery admissions.

Earlier, on October 17, 2006, the Delhi High Court had barred nursery schools from conducting any kind of interviews or interaction with children or their guardians during the admission process.

The court further ruled that schools will have to take in students on the basis of neighbourhood policy and disabled children will be given preference in the admission process.

Stressing on neighbourhood school model, the court said priority should be given to children staying within three-km radius of the schools for admissions.

Twenty points will be given to the children living within the three-km periphery of any nursery school, said the court.

The points decrease with the increased distance in the school and the admission seeker. The ward of teachers and ex-students of the schools will get preference during the admission process.

Schools were given flexibility to give 20 points as per their parameters for the admission. "A disabled student and girl child will get benefit of five points each," said the court.