Indian schools see big jump in applications for admission

Muscat: Despite a spike of 16 per cent in the number of Indian schoolchildren looking for places this year, compared to 2018, the school board has managed to find places for everyone.
In 2018, the Indian School Board received 4,098 applications, down from 5,100 the previous year but this year the number of applications stood at 4,746.
“Despite the increase, all children who applied for admission to Indian schools have been granted places for this academic year,” the Indian school board announced on Monday.
Dr. Baby Sam Samuel, Chairman, Board of Directors – Indian Schools in Oman, said: “Unlike previous years, we managed to accommodate everyone in the first draw which took place on Sunday evening as there was a lot of demand for the new Indian School in Bausher.”
He also revealed that there will be no fresh admissions in the afternoon shifts in the Indian Schools from this year. “We are planning to eradicate the afternoon shifts from this year,” he said.
More than 4,000 students attend school in the afternoon shifts at present. The numbers account for admission of students from KG 1 to Class IX standards. “The online application portal will again be activated for fresh admissions to all classes from 24 March 2019. Parents need to take a print out of the completed on line application form and approach the school where admission is required.
“Admission will be granted subject to availability of seats. Indian School Bausher will include Class VIII in the new application portal,” the Board said.
Due to a large number of parents seeking admission for their children in Indian Schools the demand generally outstrips the total number of available seats in all schools in the capital.
“However, the centralised admission system with online registration introduced by the BoD has facilitated the entire admission process, making it convenient for parents and schools in the rush for admissions. The Board of Directors, in its commitment to provide quality education to the children of the Indian diaspora, ensures that no child would be deprived of admission,” it said.
Online registration for admissions to classes KG I to Class IX in Indian Schools in the capital area for the academic year 2019-2020 started from January 15, 2019 and continued till February 17, 2019.