Chandigarh: Govt schools told to accept all admission forms

The UT district education officer (DEO) has issued instructions to the government schools to accept all admission forms, regardless of the number of vacancies. The instructions are based on the department’s resolve to ensure education for every child in the city.

If seats are available in a school, then admission will be granted as per policy. If the seats are unavailable, the case will be referred to the cluster school, under which the institution falls, by the evening of that day or the next working day. All forms can be submitted in all schools.

Intra-city school transfers (from one school to another within the city) are not allowed excluding, medical case, siblings in the same school or other compelling reasons. In either case the approval must come from the DEO’s office, subject to availability of seats.

In previous years, it was seen that some schools refused to accept forms and hassled parents by making them run from one school to another. While the new session has started in most schools, admissions to government schools still remain open.

Schools have also been instructed to inform the parents regarding the availability or unavailability of seats. There are 112 government schools in the city. The department also annually releases data regarding “out of school” children in the city, which is awaited for 2023.

The schools must call parents and assist them during the admission process. The department has also asked schools to allow provisional admission in case of missing documents. This will, however, be followed with a written undertaking to provide the missing document in 45 days, which will convert temporary admission into regular admission.

Every principal would appoint an admission in-charge who will personally be responsible for facilitating the process. “We are obligated to help the parents, especially those who are unable to read and write, complete their children’s/wards’ forms. No complaint should be received regarding failure to help during admission,” the DEO reiterated in the instructions.