Delhi may scrap nursery admissions for 2021-22

By Devanshi Thakkar

Schools are unlikely to open before July.

And it is also said that schools in the national capital will admit two batches in 2022-23 – one in nursery and other in kindergarten.

Meanwhile, Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia told that there were very little possibility of schools reopening before July. “Even if we start vaccinating people by February, we will be able to vaccinate a sizeable chunk only by July. There is no possibility of reopening schools before that. We also have to look at how examinations will be conducted without putting teachers and students at risk,” he said.

Explaining nursery admissions for the upcoming session, a senior official said: “Schools can admit students in both nursery and kindergarten for the 2022-23 academic session, as there will be vacancies in both grades. Considering the unpredictable nature of the Covid virus, the youngest children will be the last to go to school in any case. In such a situation, to have another set of young children whose entire academic year will be online is a little unfair to them as well as to their parents.”

School in Delhi have been shut since March. “There is a whole batch of students who started nursery in April this year, but everything was online. They have not interacted with their teachers or classmates, and have only seen them on the screen. In formative classes such as nursery and kindergarten, children learn to interact with each other and the world so that they are prepared for what lies ahead. They have not got this opportunity, despite starting school,” said the official.

The guidelines by Delhi Government are usually released by November. This year, however, schools said there has been no discussion on the process so far.

“The government has not discussed any guidelines with us so far. Everything is very uncertain and parents are also wary, keeping in mind the pandemic,” said Jyoti Arora, principal, Mount Abu School, and member of the CBSE governing body.