Parents ready with a pile of documents

NEW DELHI: As the first day of nursery admission to 1,300 private schools begins on January 2, parents are ready with an arsenal of documents, photocopies and affidavits to be the first ones to get the form out of their way.
Experts say it is necessary that parents pace themselves in the first few days of the form-filling period and ensure that they work in coordination and groups for optimisation of time and effort.
Teachers suggest that for schools that still go by the manual form-filling method, parents must start early and divide work among themselves to make sure many schools can be covered in a day.
Certain documents, like the birth certificate, requisite affidavit and demand drafts, should be kept ready on the day of form sales along with photocopies of other documents, they suggest. “Parents must keep at least five original copies of the birth certificate with them because many schools might ask for the original at the same time. Delay because of lack of documents is avoidable and parents must stay mindful of that,” said Sumit Vohra of admissionnursery.com.
“Parents must also be careful to read instructions of the variations in requirements of each school they are applying to,” he added.
Girish Joshi, parent of a four-year-old, said he has prepared all the documents beforehand and has even scanned documents for the online forms.
According to Vohra, parents must avoid filling up online forms around midnight as schools keep their server shut at that time. “The form doesn’t get saved. Parents panic and create a new form and that leads to cancellation of the admission form,” he added.
Experts said that parents must also make sure that they apply to as many schools as possible to increase their chances. “Parents usually have perceived notions about ‘good’ schools. But they get disappointed when results do not come in their favour,” said Ashok Pandey, principal of Alchon International School.