Neeta Modi, who conducts admission training sessions for ICSE and IB schools, takes her curriculum very seriously. “I don’t have waiting lists and I don’t take children before the age of three and a half years. I don’t pressurise the kids either, but exposure is the most important thing. If the kids don’t come to class they will in any case be sitting at home and watching TV. You will see a marked difference between a child who has trained with me and an untrained child,” she says. She focuses on four key areas during her sessions: numbers, general knowledge, personal information, and picture talk.
Her training sessions, Modi claims, not only help with the interview process but also inculcate discipline and good manners. “What is wrong with a selection process?
Schools will obviously want the smartest kids. These days even 94 per cent is not considered a good percentage in the board exams. It is a competitive world,” she argues.
Mehta seconds this. She insists that only if her son gets into a “top” school can she be at peace. “A good school is all he needs and his future will be in good hands,” she says.
But Sovani recognises a pattern here. “What the parents don’t realise is that it is just the beginning of a cycle. Once your child is through a particular school, you want the kid to score well. Then you want him to excel in extra-curricular activities. It never ends.”
Sovani often comes across students who are stressed out due to examination pressure and the high expectations of demanding parents.
Scrap the interviews
Around a decade ago, a movement of sorts started in Delhi against a similar interviewing process in the capital’s private schools. A committee comprising education experts, jurists and parents was put together to assess the issue. In 2006, the Delhi High Court banned all interviews during the nursery admission process.
Taking a cue from this decision, activists and parents in Mumbai started pushing for a similar ban in the state. However, despite repeated efforts, there hasn’t been any change in the policy. Jayant Jain, president, Forum for Fairness in Education, receives complaints on a regular basis even today. “The thought of sending toddlers to coaching classes is very disturbing. In spite of all these efforts, most students don’t get through the interviews in the so-called prestigious schools. Preference should be given to students living in the vicinity of the school and to the siblings of students already admitted. The interview process should be scrapped entirely,” he says.
The parents saw some hope when the Maharashtra government set up a panel to revive the ban on school interviews in September, this year. Jain was part of that panel. “We just had a few meetings in the initial months and then there was no discussion on the topic whatsoever. I doubt they will do anything about it,” he says. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2009, that was passed in the parliament this year mentions that the interview process should be banned and an alternative method for school admissions should be worked out, but it might take years for it to get implemented, says Jain.
Saying ‘No’ to coaching
There are parents in the city, however, who have chosen to stay away from the competition. Anand Chowala, an engineer by profession and Urvi Chowala, residents of Worli, refused to get their children trained at a coaching class despite pressure from friends and relatives. “Everybody in my social circle was shocked but I wasn’t willing to put my kids through a training process at this age. Kids at 2 and 3 should spend maximum time at home with their parents. This is the time when a sense of security is developed. I’ve always believed that these classes do more damage than good,” she said.
Chowala, however, had to face the consequences. Two years ago, her daughter Mallika, 5, appeared for four admission interviews and didn’t make it to any of the ‘popular’ schools. Chowala became paranoid as the admission season neared its end, but eventually she found a school that did not subscribe to the interview process. She is quite happy with the school Mallika goes to. “My daughter is doing very well in her school. Children at this age can be moody. How do you judge a child’s intelligence in a span of twenty minutes?” Her two-year-old son, Arjun, who will be eligible for admissions next year, has also not joined any coaching class.
School as status symbol
Nitya Ramaswami, Head, Child Development Academics at Kidzee, a chain of pre-schools, argues that it is the parents who panic and pressurise the kids. The interviews, she claims, are relatively child-friendly. A few months before the admission process counsellors at Kidzee are bombarded with questions from paranoid parents about schools and admissions. “I have seen parents get panic attacks and high blood pressure a day before the interview. At Kidzee, we try and counsel the parents. There are enough schools in the city but parents often run after the ‘branded’ schools,” she says, adding, “Parents should pick schools based on the teaching methodology the school uses and not whether sending the child to a particular school is a status symbol or not. Children should be left out of this.”
Vohra, however, is keeping her fingers crossed. In a week’s time all the school admission results should be out and she will know if Pankhi has passed the test. “Once she is in, then dogs can be red, elephants can be blue and she can do what she wants to do.”
Some names have been changed on request
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