No more Interview Blues

A Delhi High Court judgment earlier this year, which banned schools from interviewing children during admission to the pre-primary/kindergarten level, has had its effect on Mumbai schools as well. A majority of pre-primary schools in the city have scrapped the interview system this year. The methods of selection being used include first-come-first basis, random selection process, priority to siblings and interviewing parents.

“We are completely against interviewing kids and parents for admission to the pre-primary/kindergarten level. As per global practices, we will be admitting students on the first-come-first-serve basis. Interviews cannot be a criteria for selection, as a student’s intellectual ability and social stature does not signify her ability to study in a particular school,” said Leena Ashar, managing director of Kangaroo Kids Education Limited (KKEL), which runs a number of pre-schools in Mumbai.

For other schools, the selection depends on the child’s age — followed by random selection. Zarin Virji, principal of St John School at Goregaon, said, “Our first criteria of selection involves the age-group of the child. We provide admission to students who meet the age criteria devised by the school management. Then admissions are given on the basis of random selection.”

But some schools still believe interviewing kids is the best way. “This year, we received 500 applications from which we had to admit 80 students. This type of selection process (interviewing) helps us maintain transparency in the admission process,” said Sherin Darsha, principal of JB Petit Girls’ School, Fort. Darsha claims that students don’t have to prepare for interviews, which are conducted in a simple manner. “They are asked to identify different colours and arrange toys in a specific sequence. However, this process involves testing the child’s basic abilities and her activeness.”

However, parents feel that although majority of pre-schools are no longer interviewing children, the focus this year seems to be more on the parents’ profession and income. “Along with admission forms, we are provided with a questionnaire specifically enquiring about our profession, income and education level. We are also asked questions like how much can we contribute to ‘school activities’. Most schools have been conducting indirect oral interviews, “ said Hemlata Joshi (name changed), a hassled parent.

Many parents feel it’s the child’s family and parents’ professional background which gets the child admission to a good city pre-school. “I have just given a preliminary interview at a well-know city school. I felt that the emphasis was on my profession, my educational qualification and my income. However, it’s a major relief that our kids will not have to undergo the trauma of appearing for interviews,” said Ranjeet Sharma, another parent. Interestingly, some schools expect the child’s mother to be a housewife so that she can help the child complete her homework. Parents are spending long hours finding out good schools for their wards. Schools affiliated to the ICSE board are especially in demand. “We have been trying hard to get our ward admission in an ICSE school, as they focus on extra-curricular activities and not just academics,” said Niti Shah, a parent.

Education experts, however, say that parents’ obsession to send their wards in elite schools is part of the problem, not the solution. “With the increase in the number of pre-schools in the city, schools have no other option but to relax the admission process to attract maximum number of students. But parents are tense because of their desire to seek admission in particular schools,” said Reeta Sonawat, head of the human development department at SNDT Women’s University, and who has been nominated by the World Forum as a global leader for pre-school children.

Arundhati Chavan, president of Parents Teachers Association, echoes Sonawat’s concerns. “Parents should seek admission for their kids in neighbourhood schools and make the pre-school admission process tension free.” But Chavan believes the high fees and donation demands by schools adds to the “admission chaos”. She added, “The state government will have to shoulder the responsibility of regulating the admission process.”