Schools: Muddle over who’s in who’s out

Some children living in the immediate vicinity of main schools have been left out while others coming from even non-existent homes have been admitted. This sums up the controversy over Year 1 admissions that has spilled over to this year too. Although parents were hopeful of a hassle-free admission system based on equal opportunity to all, at least this year, questions have been asked about the new marking system which saw children facing interview boards and being assessed for their performance.

While temporary name lists of those who have gained admission to Grade 1 have been released by schools there is a lot of heart burn among parents whose children have not gained admission. The problem has been further aggravated by the limited opportunity for appeals this year.

In one glaring irregularity, a child has been selected from an assessment number that is made up of only four concrete pillars and was advertised for sale soon after the admission application was made. These four pillars stand in the co-operative housing scheme at Kiribathgoda and the child has been selected to Vihara Maha Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Kiribathgoda. Some parents who live in permanent houses in the vicinity charge that their children have been left out.

Parents also feel that the interviews held for the children were unfair. They say they were not allowed to sit in at the interviews or were asked to stay some distance away. They say some children who had cried in fear had been given a second chance while others were not.

In another instance, parents of a five-year-old girl said that when their five-year-old girl had gone for the Vihara Maha Devi Balika Vidyalaya interview she had been asked to name her best friend. When she had mentioned the name of a boy who happened to be her best friend in pre-school, primary school teachers who had interviewed her had apparently asked her whether he was the boy she would marry one day.

In another case a girl living close to Vihara Maha Devi Balika Vidyalaya who had gone for the interview with her parents was taken in to a room and locked in with teachers she didn’t know. Her parents charge that after answering a few questions and identifying shapes of objects she had refused to do one task, blowing a balloon. She had apparently lost marks for that. The parents complain that neither she nor the parents were given the opportunity to explain to the teachers that she had a fear of balloons ever since one burst in her hands when she was in Pre-school.

"No parent would want their children to be questioned like that and being poked fun at for their answers,” one parent said. The Sunday Times learns among the main complaints against the interview boards have been the use of mobile phones during the interviews and misuse of power.

It is also alleged the Old Girls’ Association of the school had told members if they wanted their children to be admitted they should donate Rs.50 000 to the OGA Account. Some applicants who applied under Past Pupils category and paid huge donations to the OGA as well, were chosen under the Residents category by faking documents as they did not qualify under the applied category.

The Sunday Times learns that the appeal board of this school had met yesterday but only listened to three cases due to lack of documents and agitation by parents. Parents of children seeking admission to Ananda College Colombo too have made similar charges of not knowing what went on at the interviews with their children. They also say there appear to be discrepancies between what their children say were the answers they gave and the marks they have been given for them.

A look at the selection of some students to Ananda College shows children of residents who didn't get selected to the school even though they live near the school had received full marks for the required documents but lost marks for their children's interviews or evaluations. In contrast some applicants with faked documents have obtained maximum marks in the category of the suitability of the student.

One child of an old boy of Ananda who had applied to Ananda, D.S. Senanayake and Isipathana Colleges had received 18 marks for his interview at Isipathana, 15 from DS and 7 from Ananda. The parents say they fail to comprehend the disparity in the marks at Ananda College.

Many parents are reportedly challenging the temporary name list issued by Ananda College as a majority of the children living close by have not been selected. "Our children wake up with the morning bell of the school. They grew up listening to the morning prayers of the school. We live so close to the school yet our children have not been selected", was the complaint of many parents when The Sunday Times contacted them. One of them said he lived almost adjacent to the school and could see the school building whenever he stepped out in to his garden.

However in another case an old boy not even registered with the OBA had applied from the resident category and eventually selected from the old boys category. Although there is no religious quota in the new admission circular, none of the nearly 20 odd Muslim families that had applied to Ananda College has gained admission. One of the parents. N. Fatima said they live very close to Ananda College but when they inquired from the interview board, the board chairman had said that 2% of the intake was for Muslims according to the new circular.

There are allegations over some members who sat in at the interview boards too. The interview board of Ananda College had apparently comprised a member who had allegedly used a false address to get his child admitted to the school while he was actually residing in Kadawatha. In another school the manager of the swimming pool had sat in on the interview board. The problem that many parents whose children have been rejected face, is that according to the circular of the Education Ministry which was published on a directive of the Supreme Court , the marks given to a child for his or her performance in the interview cannot be subject to review or be appealed against.

There were similar tales of woe from parents living close to D.S.Senanyake College whose children have not gained admission, while those whose names were not even on the electoral list have managed to get their children in. Similar charges have been raised by parents living close to Dharmapala Vidyalaya in Pannipitiya.

C.K. Dissanayake a resident living close to the school says his address had been used by someone calling himself Karunanayake to get his child admitted to the school. Mr. Dissanayake says he had not given permission for such an act. The problems are not confined to Colombo. Complaints have been flowing in even from outstations as well including admissions to Rahula college in Matara and Dharmashoka College in Ambalangoda.

Some of the highlights of the cabinet decisions and circular which have now been found to be violated are: The Draft Cabinet Decision issued on 31/8/2007 reads: "every child presented for admission to Grade 1 should be provided with a school, as convenient to the child/parents, as possible."

In the Policy Frame related to admission of children to Grade One for 2008 it says under criteria for selection and marking scheme for admission of children to Grade One that the location of the school, (that the applicant's house is situated in the same district as the school) and the convenience for the child and parents should be taken into consideration.

In the circular issued on admitting children to Grade one, the Education ministry has clearly stated that "it is strictly prohibited to charge/obtain any other fess or donations (apart from the facilities and service charges) or any type of goods and equipment".

What the circular said

Education Minister Susil Premjayantha yesterday declared that parents whose children have not been able to gain admission would have to seek redress from the Supreme Court. He said that the Supreme Court should be informed if there are any violations of the circular or malpractices and that the Education Ministry has no authority over the matter.

"The Supreme Court drafted the circular even though the Ministry issued it. So, we can't take any action about the issue", he said.