Nazish Idrisi, a smith by profession, could not get a nursery seat for his son last year under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, even after applying in 13 schools. But, soon after learning about the commencement of admissions in entry-level classes this year, Idrisi is again hopeful and is visiting all the schools in his locality to ensure that his son starts school.

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A resident of north-east Delhi's Subhash Vihar, Idrisi has never been to school but has now all his dreams pinned to his son."I have already visited five schools since Wednesday but all of them said the schedule for the EWS category has not been declared yet. I don't trust them anymore. I want a nursery seat for my son this year at any cost," said the 30-year-old.

Idrisi is among the thousands of parents who want to admit their wards to a school under the 25 per cent seats reserved for the EWS/Disadvantaged (DG) category. The Delhi government conducts online centralised admission for this category."I had filled the form with the help of an NGO last year. I am going to seek their help again. I don't want my son to be uneducated like me," he said.

The Aam Admi Party (AAP) government in the Capital switched to the online admission process in 2015 after receiving complaints of "discrimination" from parents. Earlier, the schools used to conduct admissions under EWS category by issuing forms and selecting the students through a draw of lots based on the neighborhood criterion -- children residing within the 0-3 km radius.

Even as the admission process for the general category is underway in around 1,700 private schools, the notification for this category is expected in January next week.

Idrisi is not the only one waiting for the EWS notification. Despite having internet access on his phone, Kishan Kumar, a rickshaw-puller in east Delhi's Patparganj area, will take the help of a cyber cafe owner in filling the form for his 4-year-old daughter."I don't know why we failed to get a nursery seat last time. I will make sure the form is filled by an expert so that nothing goes wrong this year,"he said.

Volunteers working for the admissions, however, say that the schools reject EWS/DG students on"flimsy grounds"."Even after their name comes in the draw, admissions to these students are refused on flimsy grounds, like spelling not matching etc. The schools should give in writing the reason on which admissions are denied even after successful draws,"said Ekramul Haque, national convener, Mission Taaleem.

DROP IN NUMBER OF EWS ADMISSIONS1

  • According to the government’s affidavits in the Delhi High Court, while 31,000 children took admission in private schools in the city under the EWS quota in the 2015-16 session, the number subsequently dropped to 19,000 in 2016-17 and 20,000 in 2017-18.