Four years without Uniform Admission Calendar in Private Schools

With September approaching, the whole focus of school education shifts towards the new admission session in private schools across Jammu and Kashmir.

The capitation fees collected by some private schools, in violation of the government orders, has become a cause of concern for every parent. Besides collection of donations, non-implementation of the much hyped Uniform Admission Calendar by all private schools has also taken center stage.

It has been around five years since the government ordered for implementation of Uniform Admission Calendar in private schools but the implementation of the directive is still a distant dream.

On September 24, 2020, the J&K government ordered private schools to follow a uniform admission calendar for kindergarten classes, to put an end to exploitation due to the different admission schedules.

The government directed all JKBOSE affiliated private schools to upload the fee structure along with the list of selected candidates and other details on the websites of the schools.

The order was issued on the recommendations of the Fee Fixation and Regulation Committee (FFRC) which informed the SED that complaints were received from parents that a different admission schedule followed by the private schools results in exploitation of parents and offers a limited choice to students for seeking admission.

The order for implementation of a uniform admission calendar was issued after it was observed that no breathing time was given to parents to take a second thought to admit their kid in a particular school.

However, the initiative by SED was supposed to be implemented from 2021 admission session as the order was issued in ending September of 2020 when the private schools already had initiated the admission process for kindergarten classes.

The uniform admission session was implemented in 2021 and the decision was supported by the Private Schools Association of J&K (PSAJK).

As per the government order notified by the School Education Department (SED) in 2020, a proper schedule was provided to the private schools in Kashmir (following November session) and Jammu (following March).

As per the order issued by SED the admission process in JKBOSE affiliated private schools in Kashmir and winter zone Jammu should start from 3rd week of September followed by receipt of application forms from parents in the last week of September.

Finalisation of selection and displaying list of selected students and waiting list should be done by October 10 while the collection of fees should be done by October 20.

The private schools in Jammu division following the March session of academics are supposed to issue the notification for admission in the 3rd week of January followed by issuance and receipt of application forms in the last week of January.

The finalisation and display of selected children and waiting list should be completed by February 10 and submission of fee from selected children should be done by February 20.

The schools have to upload the selection list on websites or make the selection list public through newspaper advertisement.

The list should be uploaded with name of the entry class, age criteria (along with cut-off date), criteria for admission and details of the documents required for admission.

The admission form should be free of cost and only Rs 200 should be charged as a registration fee at the time of submission of the admission form.

While the uniform admission calendar was implemented in the 2021 admission session, the government in October, 2022 adopted March session in schools and barred the private schools from going ahead with admissions for kindergarten classes.

The SED in its order said that the new admission for Kindergarten classes would be started in March.

Since then the Uniform Admission Calendar for Kindergarten classes got derailed and is not followed in any of the private schools, leaving parents at the receiving end.

The March academic session for schools was in vogue from 2022 to 2024 and the newly formed NC led government in October 2024 reverted to the previous November academic session in schools.

This year, the private schools are all set to start the admission process for kindergarten classes from September month. Even a few schools have already issued the dates for registrations and submission of the hard copies of the forms.

Amid this, all eyes are on the government to ensure private schools follow a uniform admission calendar to ensure that parents do not get exploited in any way.

In absence of a uniform admission calendar, the schools follow different dates to announce selection of the students due to which the parents either do not get ample time to select the school of their choice or end up paying admission fees in more than one school, without getting a refund from the institution not opted for the admission.

The parents remain in a dilemma while choosing the school for their kids as the schools issue a selection list of candidates as per different schedules.

The schools while following different admission schedules force parents of the selected students to clear fee including donation within two days after notifying the selection list. Amid this, parents end up choosing schools by force rather than by choice for their kids.

The strict implementation of the Uniform Admission Calendar in private schools for kindergarten admission will ensure that the admissions are done in a proper way while providing breathing time to parents to choose the school as per their choice without any pressure from schools to complete the process in haste.

As the admission session is yet to formally begin, it is the right time for the government to issue a fresh circular for the schools for strict implementation of a Uniform Admission Calendar for Kindergarten admission. The move will not only provide relief to parents but will also ensure transparency in the admission process.

Importantly, finalising selection of students in accordance with Uniform Admission Calendar will do away with the unnecessary exploitation of parents who remain in dilemma over choosing a school for their wards.