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School Interview? Don't Forget Your Ration Card

By pardeep3dec, Section Education
Posted on Fri Oct 26, 2007 at 03:48:35 AM EST

Several city schools have decided to ask for valid proof of residence from parents during their ward's admission. This is to prevent them from faking their residential addresses.

Many schools have found that parents have resorted to providing fake addresses after the Ganguly Committee recommended last year that schools give preference to students who stay close to the institutions.

To ensure admission to a renowned school, parents often hide their original address and furnish fabricated ones at the time of admission. While some parents put down addresses of relatives, who stay in the vicinity of the school, others provide non-existent ones. They do this in the fear that only kids from the school's locality would get admission. This is particularly true of parents who don't have good schools in their locality. At Birla High School for Girls, principal Sharmila Bose said: "I have requested parents to produce either their ration card, passport or EPIC (Voters' ID) as residence proof. This will at least help us to ensure that the residential address is valid. Parents have also been asked to bring along the certificate of the last examination they had taken to verify whether their declaration on the form is accurate."

The logic that wards of highly qualified parents get preference during admission is unfounded, too. "We do not look for exceptionally qualified parents. Instead, I arrange a debate or group discussion among parents," added Mahadevi Birla Girls Higher Secondary School principal Malini Bhagat. Principal of Welland Gouldsmith, Gillian Hart, said, "I ensure that the declaration of residential address is true since it creates problems for the school if the address turns out to be false." Lakshmipat Singhania Academy principal Meena Kak said: "We prefer students from the locality because of the CBSE guideline. Moreover, it takes a toll on the students if they have to commute for long distances to reach school. There is also excess burden in higher classes."

Reverend PSP Raju, Bishop of the Calcutta diocese of the CNI, added: "Though we completely trust parents who bring their kids for admission, schools ask for a proof of residence during the completion of final formalities. This is to ensure that parents do not deceive the school by fabricating residential address, which is important for further communication." St James Principal T H Ireland felt that his school will soon ask parents to produce proof of valid residential address. "It is necessary to ensure that parents do not fake such important information," he said.

Source: The Times of India, 26th Oct,2007

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