The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Parents on tenterhooks over admissions
Asha Ahuja

Ludhiana, December 17
Come December and the parents of first-time school children suffer from anxiety pangs so much so that many of them have to resort to medication. This is a far cry from the days when parents did not go for any detailed survey of the top schools of the city but admitted their wards to schools in the neighbourhood. Frantic parents are busy buying prospectuses, registering names of their wards in various schools, besides pulling strings for admission to top bracket schools of the city.

Needless to say all this is upsetting on their budget and behaviour as they are hassling their children to cram the basics. Some parents are at their wit’s end as they do not know which school to choose.

Every school is following its own pattern of admission. Mr Patial, Principal, DAV Public School, said the school would admit 274 students in LKG. For admission in the next academic session, 188 new admissions are of brothers and sisters of students studying in the school.

“It has been the school’s policy. Moreover, it is convenient for parents too,” he said.

Registration forms will be available on January 6 from 9 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. for a week. By January 16, the selection procedure will start. Mr Patial said earlier interviews were held, but since the number was under 100 this year, the school was considering admissions on the basis of draw of lots.

If the parents have problems, so do the schools. Sister Helima, Principal, Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School, said this year they had asked parents to get their child photographed with them. “From experience, we have learnt that if a child does not get admission, then the child with altered appearance and a slight change in parents’ name comes for admission next year.

The screening process takes a long time. In some cases, the original parents were substituted by friends to make a good impression on the day of the interview. The forms for 250 seats would be available from January 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The parents have to submit the original birth certificate. The selection would be from January 15 to 21,” she said.

Mr R.S. Gill of Guru Nanak School said admission forms would be issued after the school opened after the vacation. “There are 300 seats and forms will be available from January 7. The admissions will take place by the end of January,” he said.

St Thomas School has a different policy of admission. Ms H. Malaki, Principal, says they do not advertise for admissions, which are done on a “first come, first served basis”. She says that after they fill 180 to 190 seats, admissions are stopped. A few seats are kept for children of parents who get transferred to Ludhiana.

A similar policy is followed by Ms Mohini Albert of Shivalikwala Doon School. Their admissions are on from December11 and would continue till January 15. During registration, screening of students is done on the basis of their general awareness and receptiveness. She said for pre-nursery, the provision was for only 20 students. For LKG, only 40 seats for two sections of 20 students each were available.

Ms Neena Khanna, Principal of KVM, said registration would start on January 10 and by first week of February, the results would be out for 240 seats for LKG. Ms Yachna Chawla of UPSC Jain School said their school was on the outskirts of the city and they got a lot of students from rural areas.

“They have 120 seats for nursery and an equal number for LKG. The registration is on and will continue till first week of January, The syllabus, alongwith the admission form, is available for Rs 150” she said.

Almost all principals agreed that the criterion for selection was common, focusing on the child’s awareness of his/her environment and motor ability.

Founder’s day celebrated
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 17
The founder’s day was celebrated at Everest Public Senior Secondary School in Moti Nagar on Saturday. Mr Surinder Dawar, MLA, was the chief guest and Mr Darshan Singh Virk was the guest of honour. A declamation contest was organised in memory of the founder of the school Dina Nath Sharma. Mr Gurmeet Singh, Secretary, Transport Minister, inaugurated the function.

Students from various schools of the city participated in the contest and expressed their views on different topics. Mr Rajinder Sharma, president, Association of Affiliated Schools, Punjab, recalled Dina Nath’s zest to impart education to students in an ideal atmosphere enabling them to enlighten the masses with the torch of knowledge.

The results were announced and prizes were awarded to the students showing excellence elocution. Following are the results :

Punjabi section: Richa Kaura, Mahavir Jain Senior Secondary School, Phagwara, and Kirti Pathak Everest Public Senior Secondary School, Moti Nagar, got the first prize. Second prize was won by Neha Thakur, Atam Public School, and Amit Mittal, Lal Bahadur Shastri Public High School and third prize went to Honey Kaushal, Ravinder Public School.

Hindi section: First prize — Sharanjit Kaur, Everest Public Senior Secondary School, Moti Nagar; second prize: Shruti Sharma, Atam Public Senior Secondary School; third prize: Neha Kanda, Rajindra Model School, Durga Puri, and Heera Sharma, Atam Singh Public School.

The running trophy was bagged by Atam Singh Public School.

Teachers’ body to burn effigies
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 17
Mr Piara Singh Dhillion, president Govt Primary Teachers Association, said in a press note that their association, at a meeting yesterday, had decided to burn the effigies of the Elementary Education Directorate on December 25 in the Town Hall of Moga to protest against the new education policy.

The association’s general secretary, Mr Baldev Kishan Modgil, said the teachers of Moga, Faridkot, Mukatsar and Ferozepore would participate. He criticised meeting held on Sunday by DPI(S) Sohan Lal. He alleged the DPI had gone beyond the directives of the tge Education Secretary when he said that senior teachers of the master cadre would be appointed heads of a school, contrary to the directives of the Education Secretary. The association demanded strict action against the DPI.

GNE college golden jubilee
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 17
The managing committee of the Nankana Sahib Education Trust, at a meeting held yesterday, decided that Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College would celebrate its golden jubilee next year. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the trust president, Prof K.S. Badungar.

Talking to this correspondent, Mr G.S. Randhawa, secretary of the trust, said President A.P.J. Kalam was likely to be invited as a special guest.

At the meeting, it was decided to spend Rs 7 lakh on raising the boundary wall of the college. It was also decided to procure 120 more computers to improve the technical standards of the school.

A number of projects would be completed before the celebrations. A directory with complete information of old students would be released, Mr Randhawa said.