DoE announces admission guidelines for Delhi govt-run special schools

NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Education has issued guidelines for admission to Delhi government-run special schools at the entry level and classes 1 to 9 and 11. Students passing the previous class from a recognised school will be admitted directly in classes 6 to 9, the Directorate of Education (DoE) has said in a circular dated March 6. Out-of-school children seeking admission in Class 6 will undergo an assessment to check their basic literacy and numeracy skills. Students applying for classes 7 and 8 who have not studied in a recognised school can be admitted based on a simple undertaking from their parents.

Admission to Class 9 is only for students who have passed the previous class from a recognised school. Students transferring from feeder schools with valid documents are exempt from the age criterion and the head of schools may grant a six-month relaxation, if requested by the parents. According to the guidelines, the age criterion for admission to government special schools are based on class levels, as on March 31 of the academic year.

For entry-level classes, the age range is three to seven years for nursery, four to eight years for kindergarten, five to nine years for Class 1, six to 11 years for Class 2, seven to 12 years for Class 3, eight to 13 years for Class 4, and nine to 14 years for Class 5. For the mid-level, the age limits are 10-16 years for Class 6, 11-17 years for Class 7, 12-18 years for Class 8, and 13-19 years for Class 9. For admission to Class 11, students should be between 15 and 21 years old.

Age relaxations

The guidelines also mentioned relaxations of up to six months in some cases, depending on the class level and school discretion. For admission to Class 11, the DoE said students passing the secondary school examination (Class 10) would be eligible. Students who completed Class 10 from National Institute of Open Schooling institutions must have at least 50 per cent in five subjects to opt for humanities without skill subjects, and 45 per cent for humanities with skill subjects. For children with disabilities, the DoE highlighted that admission to schools for blind students required a disability certificate or Unique Disability ID (UDID) card. For students with intellectual disabilities, admission is limited to those classified under moderate to profound disability based on IQ levels. Priority will be given to students residing in Trans-Yamuna areas due to transport limitations, according to the DoE guideline

Non-residents eligible for hostel facilities

For hearing-impaired students, the DoE specified that only those with severe to profound hearing loss (above 61 dB) would be eligible, with additional assessments such as PTA (hearing test) and IQ tests being required. The DoE said all admissions would be conducted online on the official website. Preference will be given to students who have siblings studying in government special schools, it added. While children residing in Delhi will be prioritised, non-residents can apply for hostel facilities if seats are vacant after admitting the eligible Delhi-based students. The directorate also emphasised that admissions would be subject to seat availability and a draw of lots conducted if applications exceeded the seats available.