'Tougher than entering IITs': Ashneer Grover on nursery admissions in Delhi-NCR

Ashneer Grover, the former co-founder and managing director of BharatPe, on Monday said that getting a 4-year-old child admitted in a private school in Delhi-NCR is tougher than getting into the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

The Shark Tank India judge took to X, formerly known as Twitter to speak about the  difficulties of getting a kid admitted in nursery at a private school. “It’s tougher to get your 4-year-old kid admission in Nursery in your preferred private school, than it is to enter IITs. At least in Delhi NCR,” he wrote.

He also stated that demand for the "coveted schools" outnumbers supply. “If nursery school seats were auctioned in Delhi NCR, IPL would be the 2nd highest auction in the country,” Grover concluded.

Admission to nursery in private schools in Delhi-NCR is highly competitive. There are many more applicants than there are seats available, and the schools use a variety of criteria to select their students, including interviews, aptitude tests, and extracurricular activities.

In addition, the process of nursery admissions is complex and non-transparent. Many preschools follow an intricate point system that prioritizes aspects like sibling in the same school, distance from home, parent's alumni status, and more, creating a baffling process for parents.

Moreover, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation, paralyzing normal admission procedures, and leaving parents floundering even more.

The revelation came as a surprise to many who expected the IIT entrance exams to be the pinnacle of educational struggles in India. However, a lot of social media users agreed to the thoughts of Ashneer Grover.

“If you say it's tough what about many others . Why not successful people with enough means and capability address this problem. Education is the core for our future generations and this is one area we cannot as a nation afford to lose track. Ensuring all are able to get a good level of education is very important. Why can't companies use their CSR activities to address this issue ?,” a user wrote.

“Who knew 'Nursery Admissions' could be an extreme sport? 🎓💥 Ab bs isme bhi scam leak out hona baki hai!,” another one commented.

“I faced issues for my daughter after she completed her pre-primary. And then putting her in Grade I. It was the toughest job for me to find a school for her,” a third user remarked.

A fourth user said, “I know families who were willing to invest 50-60 lacs for nursery admissions.”

“Very true. Imagine paying 20-25 L for getting a kid into Nursery, that's how my two of my nieces got into a school. It's better to get schooling done somewhere else than NCR. It's a messed up area, high crime, reckless traffic, broken culture, etc.,” another user chimed in.

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