Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
“Nursery admissions should take place next year, irrespective of whether the vaccine arrives or not,” says Lubhanshi Bajaj, even as the Delhi government considers a proposal to halt nursery admissions next year, promising to admit students directly to kindergarten in the 2022-2023 academic session.
One of the many parents who were looking forward to get their children admitted to nursery school, Bajaj is worried that her child would miss out on an entire year if the government goes ahead with the proposal.
“If we talk about working parents like me then, it is really difficult to make your child sit at home. These days most live in nuclear families where there’s no one else to take care of the child. I don’t think the government’s proposal is practical.”Lubhanshi Bajaj, parent.
What is the government proposing and why?
According to the proposal that will be placed by the Delhi government before private schools, admissions are likely to be held in two batches in 2022 – one in nursery and the other in kindergarten.
“We are discussing if nursery admissions can be scrapped in 2021. If this proposal is approved, then children who were to take admission in nursery this year, will directly take admission to KG, where there will be a vacancy.”A Delhi government official had earlier told The Quint.
The official said that parents won’t be comfortable sending children till they are vaccinated. “If schools don’t open till then, what is the point of admitting students?” he asked.
He also added that nursery students who were admitted in 2019 “haven’t seen the face of their school.”
What are parents saying?
However, parents like Deepak Batra are worried that skipping nursery could deprive children of foundational skills that they need before moving on to kindergarten.
“A child who cannot even utter ABCD or any other letters, how can we expect him or her to skip a year and take admission in KG. How can we be sure that once in KG, they will be able to spell cat, dog, bat or pronounce them in the right manner?”Deepak Batra, Parent
Another parent, Seema Syall, points out that if children admitted to nursery in 2020 could learn online, why should those in 2021 be made to lose one entire year?
“It's a techno-savvy world where children can use gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, and other electronics gadgets with great ease. Holding up their admission just because of this, I don't think it is practical,” she said.
Are schools in favour of the proposal?
Alka Kapur, Principal, Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh: “If the curve starts flattening due to the vaccine and say, things get smoother by June or July, students will be needing a formal education system – a formal school and a structured curriculum in their interests.”
Jyoti Arora, Principal, Mount Abu Public School: “Where will teachers go for an entire year? The school management, which has salary commitments, will face a big loss as well. Not only learning, the entire school education system will be at a loss.”
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