A test or an interview for admission to a nursery class is though clear violation of the constitution right to education guaranteed to the citizens under the constitution of India but there is no end to the non-stop practices of a test or an interview for admission to any nursery class and more so in Christian missionary schools in Jammu & Kashmir. Even interaction with the parents, educational qualifications of the parents, admission of sibling in the school are cited reasons for admission to a child by many private schools and again more so by Christian missionary schools. By all means there is no approved standard process for admission to nursery classes in private schools which are mostly preferred by the parents in cities and towns across Jammu & Kashmir. Since standard admission process is found missing in all private schools including Christian missionary schools, the parents are upset and confused over their inability to admit their wards in schools of their choice. While the private schools don’t find it easy to admit children of similar skills and of diverse economic backgrounds in a nursery classes, parents struggle for admission of their wards in a nursery class in a school of their own choice. What matters the most is that rules don’t allow schools conduct any kind of tests and interviews for admissions from nursery to class VIII at all private schools but private school in Jammu & Kashmir conduct tests and interviews for admissions to nursery class without letting this illegal and unwanted practice to end. Though Section 13 of the right to education act clearly states that neither a child or his/her parents/ guardians have to appear for any screening procedure nor they have to pay any capitation fee for admission to the schools but private schools in Kashmir not only conduct tests and interview but also receive capitation fee from the admitted students without even giving them a proper receipt. It may be mentioned here that recently private schools of Jammu & Kashmir challenged an order of the Committee for Fixation of Fee Structure of the Private Educational Institutions (FFRC) that barred private schools from charging non tuition fee for the lockdown periods from the children in the supreme court of India and interestingly the association paid unimaginably high counseling fee to a Supreme Court of lawyer for decision against the children who are charged unimaginably high tuition and non tuition fee . Question can be asked that home come private schools one managed to pay unimaginably high counseling fee to a Supreme Court Lawyer for a decision against the interests of the children on whose fee their schools are run but on the other hand they lay off the teaching staff and deny salaries to most of the teachers who conduct online classes during lockdown periods.
Unless and until a standard admission procedure is not devised for admission in nursery classes for all private school including Christian missionary schools and institutional and administrative authority is not given to Committee for Fixation of Fee Structure of the Private Educational Institutions (FFRC) for proper monitoring and regulation of the entire admission process, the crisis of admissions to nursery classes cannot be resolved.
Morality demands that both internal and external audits should be made mandatory for all the private schools in Jammu & Kashmir. For transparency in admission to nursery classes in private schools a standard and a uniform admission procedure is the only way out for which all stakeholders have to be taken on board and what matters the most is the institutional and administrative empowerment of Committee for Fixation of Fee Structure of the Private Educational Institutions (FFRC) for proper monitoring and regulation of the entire admission process of nursery classes in private schools including Christian missionary schools. Unless and until a standard admission procedure is not devised for admission in nursery classes for all private school including Christian missionary schools and institutional and administrative authority is not given to Committee for Fixation of Fee Structure of the Private Educational Institutions (FFRC) for proper monitoring and regulation of the entire admission process, the crisis of admissions to nursery classes can not be resolved.
