India’s population is growing at an unprecedented rate with an average 20.6 births per 1000 people. It is another matter that most of these children don’t live beyond the age of five years. But what’s very critical is the fact that these children deserve the most basic right, i.e., education.
Unfortunately, this has become a privilege of the select few. We have a case to highlight that well showcases the situation, in the context of New Delhi.
The new order, issued on 27th October, 2008 by Govt. of National Capital Territory of Delhi Directorate of education(Act Branch) Old Sectt. Delhi-54 regarding Admission Procedure for pre-primary classes in the recognized schools imparting education in Delhi, although experts opine is a right move compared to the previous that required a child seeking admission be grilled by interviewers before being admitted, some points remain to be highlighted.
One among the many request documents submitted by the Daksh’s mother, Rekha
This is the story of a mother in Delhi, who sought to admit her little son to one of the “best” schools in her area, the one her daughter goes to. She and her husband do not hold degrees, nor do they possess “contacts” (a term synonymous with the hierarchical classes of Delhites, anyways we’ll talk about that later) and obviously are not “loaded”. The husband was a yoga instructor and wife, a part-time assistant to a relative’s businessman.
The admission form submission begin from 15th December (as per the order). And we are now heading towards April but the poor boy in question is still to find a seat. The current Admission criteria requires the school administration to rate the applications on a scale of of 1 to 100 on the basis of the following:
(i) Neighbourhood - The final copy of the order states that, “It is in the interest of children that they are provided admission in a school nearest to their residence. The schools shall, therefore, give preference to children living in nearby areas. If the school is satisfied that a good and safe transport is available for a child, then, it may consider giving admission to such a child even if he/she lives at a place quite far off from the school. This is also important as distribution of schools is not uniform in the city”.
The points are given on the basis that child living within a radius of 3 kms gets maximum points of 20. And as the distance increases, points decrease. So the one staying beyond 10 kms gets no point!
What it actually implies: As the Government itself clearly states that the distribution of schools in not uniform, you can well understand the predicament of parents.
(ii) Sibling: Applicant gets 20 points. A fair enough marketing strategy for the school and convenience for parents who can send their kids together.
(iii) Alumni: If the father or mother is an alumni, 5 points each will be given and if both are alumni, 10 points will be given and in case of single parents, points are doubled. However, in case of an underprivileged child with uneducated/government school studied parents, the child’s chances of finding a better education and thereby life dramatically decline since his parents aren’t erudite enough.
A clear ad-vocation of a poor remains poor, a farmer remains farmer ideology! How would such a bias ever be jumped? Elitist Approach avalanche that brings down with it only the economically weaker sections.
(iv) Background of the Child - Stating verbatim, “Children from all social and economic backgrounds shall be equally considered for admission. The school shall make a conscious effort to admit children with special needs or from vulnerable backgrounds”. Many schools have reserved up-to 20 percent of seats for children from underprivileged backgrounds.
Written in Hindi by a distraught mother to get her child admitted to one of the “good schools” to the Delhi government
Of course how many poor neighbourhoods would you expect in an locality hosting a famous top-notch school? In our case, the school is in Preet Vihar, consequently the neigbourhood we are talking about is wealthy where rent is up-to INR 10,000 per month, how would you expect an underprivileged (expected salary below INR 6000 pm) to be living in the said area???
(v) Any child who is physically disabled or any child with special needs will get 5 points.
(vi) Parents Education: A maximum of 20 points will be awarded depending on the parents’ level of qualification. In the case of single parent weightage given for educational qualification will be doubled. Once again the same prejudice!
(vii) A girl child will get 5 points. Nice way to bridge the gender gap!
The Spin-off:
We live in India and especially in New Delhi, there are always “ways” and “means” to get things done! The rush to admission has spiraled into full fledged corruption that has engaged all the stakeholders and those who resist end up having their child without admission.
Beginning with property dealers who make “residential proofs” and allied documents for parents to come within the 3 kms limit to parents who readily spend thousands for obtaining admission any which ways to school authorities who’ve become a mafia in their own right boastfully promoting such corruption. Even the gazetted officers who sanction Income Tax Proofs to get points under section (iv) mentioned above for easy points.
So there are only two ways for a poor not-so-educated parent to enroll her child to a “reputed” school: a) Steal/borrow tons of money for filling the pockets of corrupt/powerful b) Build elite/powerful contacts (a privilege of the rich and educated).
The question remains, will Daksh find a seat? Will he ever be able to attend a “good” school like his sister? Or will he succeed the first competitive battle among the many more to come in our over-populated under-resourced country? Will his mother’s pleas/knocks to various departments and offices ever find an answer?
But the most important of all: How do we successfully educate our children by ensuring enough schools/education centers and teachers/professors and not just ensure enrollments???
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