And going by the rush of the admissions, these schools appear to be more popular than ever before. Says Sister M. Clarinda, principal of Carmel Convent: ``Just like last year, we've had to turn away several parents as we did not have seats for all.'' She shakes her head as she mulls over the possibility of trouble from fundamentalists. ``We never had such problems. The only time we were really affected was when we heard of our teacher Mrs Chary's murder, last month. She had been with us for the past 25 years and was really loved by all, '' she says.

According to Sister, there were as many as 900 applicants for the 100 odd seats that the school had this year. ``One felt so bad while refusing the little children, but it had to be done because of the limitations,'' she says. Principal of St Mary's School, Annie Koshy says she is yet to hear of parents opting for other schools. ``They are more concerned about the education they want for their children to get carried away by such talk. The process of admissions in our school is going as smoothly as it had in years before that.''

C. Manoharan, principal of St Thomas School, says: ``We are more secular than what our name may suggest. We celebrate Gurpurab, Id and Diwali with as much fervour as Christmas in our school.'' According to Manoharan, there were 2,000 applications for about 150 seats. And that too when the school had not even advertised, she boasts. ``We get all sorts of children and from different families, there has never been a doubt about the quality of education that is being offered in the school.'' she says.