The Chandigarh education department will leverage technology to streamline EWS admissions for the 2023-24 session.
The admission process will be conducted online this year and Chandigarh director of school education Harsuhinder Pal Singh Brar had held a meeting with principals of around 60 private non-minority schools in the city on Monday to discuss the software which will be used.
“When applicants fill the forms, the software will store their address through Google maps. During scrutiny of applications by schools, the candidates will automatically be categorised into three categories. Priority will be given to students living within 1 km radius of the school, followed by those living within 1 km to 3 km radius and 3km to 8km radius.”
Brar added that many schools had earlier complained about having to scrutinise hundreds of applications to check whether the candidate meets distance requirements.
“Students will have to attach income certificates of their parents, which will also be scrutinised properly. A grievance redressal committee will be formed headed by a deputy director of the education department and also comprising two representatives of private schools on rotation basis. While the committee’s purpose will be ensuring overall smooth functioning of the process, inspection of income certificates will be foremost importance. Criminal action will be initiated against anyone found submitting counterfeit documents. The Aadhar Card number of the student is mandatory to avail admission.“
Brar said the school’s principals who were present at the meeting agreed to set up helpdesks at their respective institutions. Helpdesks will also be set up at government schools
The department is set to hold a similar meeting with private minority schools on Monday to get their feedback on the software. While the admission process will start later, the department aims to open up the portal by around December 19 and it will stay open for around a month.
Appreciating the features of the system, director of Strawberry Fields High School in Sector 26, Atul Khanna, said that while they had been holding draw of lots in the previous years, they will also be comfortable using the new online system introduced by the department.
The number of EWS seats vacant at private schools haven’t been calculated as of now. The portal will work for private schools only for now and the department aims to introduce it in the next session for the senior classes in government schools.