Get to the school, quick!

The school admission season has begun in Delhi.

Unlike past years, when different schools had their own schedule, this year all the schools have to adhere to the schedule charted by the Department of Education. This means the parents aren't choking the only telephone line the school has or making endless trips there to check if the process has begun.

December 15 was the day the process kicked off and I reached the closest school at 8 in the morning. The idea was to get in and grab a form before the crowds arrived. Unfortunately, another 30-odd parents were thinking the same and had already reached the school-gate.

During my stay in Hounslow (London) and Caversham (Reading), the key factor was being reasonably close to a good school. But in Delhi, even that isn't good enough. We are within 3-4 kilometers of six of the best schools in Delhi, but will probably need to fill in the applications for all of them. Still there is no guarantee that the application will be successful.

For starters, there is the issue of the proof of residence. A Rent Deed/Agreement isn't accepted as a proof of residence. The rare school that accepts it, wants you to be staying at the address for at least six months before making the application. In an increasingly liberalised India, the proof of residence is still the Voter ID Card, Driving License, National Food Distribution Card, a Phone/Electricity Bill issued by the government-owned utility company. Having been away from India for 10 years, and in our own accommodation for less than two months, we are in a tricky situation.

Admission in Delhi schools is based on a points-system. Being a girl is good. Being a first-born is also good. Staying locally is helpful. Having a single parent is also helpful. But a sibling studying in the same school or a parent who is an alumni is super-good.

Some schools allocate points on crisp, considered and well-articulated views on education, education in a particular school and education with kids from different walks of life.

The educational and professional achievements of the parents don't attract any points, but are to be mentioned in the forms. And a couple of schools even want the parents' photos to be submitted with the application.

In keeping with the times, some schools facilitate the submission of form electronically. But as I have discovered of late, school sites seem to attract frequent malware attacks. So, the search engines and browsers stop you from accessing the sites with a message "this site may be harmful to your computer".

Looks like it'll have to be a paper application and that dreaded feeling of being marked on your responses. They better be good otherwise your parents (in the current scenario, wife and child) won't be happy. No wonder then that this dread of exams make me take the first escape-hatch out of education.

Right now, the biggest issue is proving I actually live in the house that I say I do. Making amendments to the Electricity Bill means supplying a No Objection Certificate prepared by a Notary, photocopy of the ownership, last paid bill, two photos and a proof of identity. That would be fun with a hard-of-hearing landlord, who is suspicious of any requests for help.

Getting a new telephone connection requires a proof of identity too. The proof could be Voter ID Card, Driving License or National Food Distribution Card, and a copy of the Rent Deed. Hang on, is the rent deed an Agreement or a Registered document?