Goa Schools face new directives for admissions

Proximity of a school to your residence in Goa will soon be the major criterion in the granting of admission to students in Goan schools in the primary and secondary section from the next academic year as new admission guidelines will aim to restrict the choice of parents to admit their children to the schools closest to their residence.

The above guidelines are based on a marking system under which a student will get marks in proportion to the distance of the school from his/her residence. The guidelines seem to be a fallout of the tendency among parents to send their children to the few best schools in the state thereby influencing a rush in the popular schools, thus creating an unrest among parents.

Under the new admission guidelines, the students residing within a distance of 3 km from these schools would receive 30 marks for admission while those staying between a distance of 3 to 5 km will get 25 marks. Residences between 5 to 8 km would be awarded 20 marks while those staying between 8 to 10 km would be entitled to only 15 marks.

Further, the admission guidelines offer 10 marks to the students who have migrated to the state by way of transfer of their parents. There is also a provision to give 10 marks to a student based on extra-curricular or sports activities.

The Department of education feels that the parents residing in rural areas are attracted to the urban schools although they may be residing far away from such schools and although there may be more than one school in their area of residence. This fancy for urban schools has somehow created a wide imbalance in school admissions in Goa with few schools having large waiting lists of anxious parents desiring admissions while other schools are near empty with only five to ten students admitted in some cases. The new guidelines are aimed at solving the problem.

The department has also stressed on transparency in the admission process and has prohibited schools  from conducting oral or written interviews of either the parents or the candidates