The Directorate of Education (DoE) has issued guidelines for admission to Delhi government-run special schools at the entry level and classes 1 to 9 and 11. The guidelines were issued in a circular released by the directorate on March 6. As per the circular, all admissions would be conducted online on the official website. The directorate also noted that admissions would be subject to seat availability and a draw of lots conducted if applications exceeded the seats available.
As per the guidelines, students who have qualified the previous class from a recognised school will get a direct entry in classes 6 to 9.
For those 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 do not have a degree from a recognised school will be admitted based on a simple undertaking from their parents. On the other hand, students seeking admission in Class 9 will be required to present the degree from a recognised school.
Age criteria for entry-level classes
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.
The age range is three to seven years for students seeking admission to 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.
Admission criteria 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.
Students seeking admission to Class 11 should be between 15 and 21 years old. They must have also passed secondary school examination (Class 10). 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.
The guidelines also mentioned relaxations of up to six months in some cases, depending on the class level and school discretion.
Criteria for Specially abled
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.
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.
Preference will be given to students who have siblings studying in government special schools.
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.
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.
(With inputs from PTI)