Mixed reaction to new procedure

While age, proximity and sibling presence in the school remained a common criteria to most schools, a new method of evaluating a child8217;s responsiveness was introduced by observing the children in groups. At the Tejas Vidyalaya, Ellora Park, about 650 children were observed over a three-day period to shortlist the final 60.

They were divided into four groups with each having to go through three sessions of observation. At the onset, the children were left to play on the school8217;s playground with their parents accompanying them. As they moved from the slides to the swings, the see-saws and sand dunes, teachers made notes of how active they found the child to be, how the parent and child interacted as they playtime continued.

In the second session, the children were left with blocks, slates, books and the like to see what each child did with the item he got, how he shared the same with the other children. In the final session, the children was asked to identify objects drawn on the blackboard. The session concluded with a sing-along with the teachers also pitching in.

8220;It was an interesting experience,8221; a mother told Express Newsline. 8220;There was no pressure on the child, he was left to his own devices and judged on the basis of his spontaneous behaviour. However, one does feel that an informal chat with the child8217;s parents and the school authorities should have been held so that they could assess the child8217;s background,8221; she added.

Nidhi Virmani, another parent, also found the new exercise 8220;quite cool8221;. 8220;Unlike what happens in other schools, my son wasn8217;t asked all sorts of confusing questions. He was relaxed throughout the observation8221;. Virmani too, however, felt that a teacher-parent session should have been arranged.

Headmistress of Baroda High School Promila Zalpuri, however, begs to differ. 8220;Why should the family background of the child matter to us. There is no reason that I should deny admission to a rickshawalla8217;s son just because he comes from an uneducated family. After all, what we purport to do in our school is hone a child8217;s individual talent with good education irrespective of what family he belongs to or how active or inactive he is,8221; she points out.

BHS, incidentally, did not opt for the observation session but conducted a draw to shortlist its long list of applicants. 8220;We8217;ve realised that talks with parents or observation of the children get only 25 per cent weightage in our selection procedure and hence are not very consequential,8221; she explained.

Anand Navaskar is a slightly disappointed parent. 8220;One feels that interviews were better. This is not the way to judge a child8217;s merit,8221; he said. Another parent Mahesh Vaidya complained about the lack of options for the middle class in selecting a 8220;good and affordable8221; pre-primary school. 8220;There are a handful, I can think of applying to. Even in that, all the pre-set criteria, mainly that of proximity, come in the way. At the end, it is all a matter of luck,8221; he said.