Heralding the start of the nursery admission season, the Directorate of Education on Thursday announced guidelines for admission to “pre-school/pre-primary/Class I (entry level)” for the academic session 2013-14. For the first time, “orphans” have been included “within the meaning of children belonging to disadvantaged groups”. All child welfare committees have been authorised to issue certificates declaring a child “orphan” after necessary inquiry. Admission will start from January 1 with the sale of forms and parents will be given 15 days for submission of forms. By February 15, schools will have to display lists of selected children, all categories included, along with the waiting list. Admission will close on March 30.

Earlier, schools were allowed to make changes in the admission schedule by notifying the Directorate of Education. But this year, the DoE has issued clear instructions to schools not to deviate from the schedule and to ensure that admission forms are available to all applicants “till the last date of submission”. Like last year, a common registration form has been devised for admission under the EWS and disadvantaged categories. Schools have been directed to ensure that the forms in the prescribed performa are “made available free of cost to all applicants under EWS and disadvantaged without any barrier”. Schools have been directed to comply with the notification dated February 28, 2012, which states that “the number of seats at the entry level shall not be less than the highest number of seats in the entry class during the previous three years”.