EWS admission: Parents run from pillar to post

Having trouble in getting kid admitted in private schools under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS)/Disadvantaged Group (DG) quota, after their names appeared in the list of selected candidates, complaints from parents continued to pour in. The Directorate of Education (DoE) had recently warned the schools for denying admission under the category on “flimsy grounds”. 

Pankaj Kumar (name changed) and his wife, both visually-impaired, were on cloud nine when they were informed that their three-and-a-half-year-old was selected in a sought-after school in South Delhi on March 15. A few days later, when they visited the school, they were told that all seats got filled. “Both my brother and his wife are visually challenged and have no means of income. We were really happy when he was allotted a good school. But, now we are running pillar to post to get him enrolled,” said Sunny Bains, uncle of the candidate.

Similarly, a parent from Rohini complained that the school which was allotted to his kid refused to give her admission. “We approached the school as many as eight times since March 15. The officials said that my kid’s name is on the waiting list and we will be informed accordingly. How is it even possible when his name was in the draw of lots?” asked Gagan Sardha (name changed), a parent. Meanwhile, several other schools are asking parents to pay for uniform, books and additional fees despite a clear warning from the DoE. 

“EWS/DG parents are being neglected as no action till date has been taken again multiple entries appeared in the draw of lots. The irony is that parents, who have been selected in EWS/DG lottery, are struggling to get admission for their kids in absence of any punitive action against erring schools by the DOE,” said Sumit Vohra, founder admissionsnursery.com.