Govt: Grievance redressal system in the pipeline

The minister said the move was part of her plans and not driven by demand from stakeholders. "I thought of this measure, but we could not implement it last year," she said.

Comparing nursery admission to the college admission process in Delhi, Walia said parents should look beyond the top schools and apply in more than four schools to increase their children's chances of securing admission. "Parents tell us that they couldn't get admission in any school and that they usually apply only in a few good schools. Other schools in many areas of Delhi are also good and parents should consider applying in as many schools as possible," she said.

Unlike last year, the Directorate of Education (DoE) will not allow schools to bring about any changes to the admission schedule as notified on December 13, 2012. According to the minister, the reason for this is to avoid confusion. She said the department had received complaints about forms being given out beyond the scheduled dates and that it was one of the reasons for the move.

According to the notification, the admission procedure commences on January 1, 2013. Sale of forms begins the same day and will continue for 15 days.

The last date for form submission is January 15 and that for displaying lists of selected candidates under all categories is February 15. The admission procedure will end on March 30, after which the DoE will take vacant seats into account.

On the possibility of involving parents in the debate on upper age limit for nursery admission in the Capital, the minister said, "I want to facilitate a dialogue with parents to see how this issue can be addressed."

The minister said she will "definitely take it up with the Central government", to see if any uniformity can be brought on fixing the age for entry level in schools across the country.

She said it is her personal belief that three years is "too young" for a child to start attending formal school and that they should not "rush into it".

"I have had discussions with psychologists and experts and I believe that to begin schooling at four years is better than three," Walia said.

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