Interviewing kids separately for pre-primary admissions isn't okay: Parents

While parents on one hand teach children to not speak to strangers, on the other, schools encourage the practice of taking students into separate rooms to conduct interviews. The practice, especially amid pre-primary admissions, has not gone down well among the city's parents. According to parents, the schools continue to violate rules laid out even by the government in this regard.

Despite a government rule against personal interviews with children during pre-primary admissions, many schools across the city continue with the process, activists working for educational reforms said.

Vijay Kanojia, a parent said, "My children, who are twins, were interviewed in one of the schools for admission to the pre-primary section. On one hand, we instruct them to not speak to strangers or accept gifts or chocolates from unknown people and on the other hand, schools take them into separate rooms to interact. Kids, who follow parental guidance, might not perform well. Some kids may speak but, some may not. Despite a government ban on such a practice, schools keep on violating the norms."

Another parent, Sabiha Ghiasi, who recently took her daughter to a school for admission to the pre-primary section, said, "I wrote to the principal because I shed a few tears after the my daughter's interview. My daughter was ill and yet, was locked up in a room with four strangers. I asked in the e-mail, if they were teachers. They lured her in with the promise of chocolate. This was surprising because, no where did the notice mention that we were to bring our child along after applying for admission. No where did it say there would be an interview for a baby. We heard her wailing through the door, but the staff at the door chose to ignore our concern. This went on for the longest two minutes of our lives. My daughter is two years and four months old. She was sent out later, unceremoniously, like a play thing; and the door was shut again. So, I did a little research and asked my peers if I overreacted. I asked three mothers of school going children if this is the norm in this city. All three of them answered in the negative. I then decided to tell the principal that what they had done was not okay. There was no empathy for my daughter's distress."

Education expert Swati Popat Vats, President of India's Early Childhood Association, said, "Schools should have changed themselves by now. Many parents still wonder and worry why schools conduct interviews for young children even though they have an online form submission process."

No Child’s Play

• Despite a govt rule against personal interviews with children during pre-primary admissions, many schools across the city continue with the process, activists said
• Parents think this is unnecessary as kids may not want to speak