Monday, January 8, 2001		Article

Taking the hassle out of school admissions
By Peeyush Agnihotri

It’s January and that time of the year when "public school syndrome" nags the concerned parents who start scanning newspapers for admission notices. They stuff a three-year-old with so much general awareness, that it could even leave a Kaun Banega Crorepati aspirant awestruck. All this so that the brat is able to mutter a few shapes, colours and alphabets correctly in front of the "interview board."

Getting kids admitted to a reputed school is an uphill task and admissionsearch.com is a site that has attempted to deal with the challenge. The site provides tips for interview and parental guidance. It is the brainchild of Siddarth Ralli, an economics graduate from Delhi University, and aims to help the parents who believe in getting admission to their wards on merit instead of using "money & recommendation" power.

Not only schools for the little ones, "Admissionsearch.com has also introduced a new concept in facilitating students to get complete information on all major institutions relevant for their admission and career building. It is working as a bridge between students who have decided to opt for a particular career and the institutes that are offering the relevant curriculum, teaching and training. Further, this will help in promoting and helping the IT industry in the country," Siddarth says.

Till this day, the site has had 65,000 visitors. The site advises parents to take keen interest in their children and prepare them well before applying for admission to a good school. The school section — limited only to Delhi and it’s surroundings, at present that is — lists schools in Central, North, South, East, West Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. Other special sections on this page are play schools, day-boarding and consultancy services.

"No, our site is not Delhi specific. Schools of all major cities/towns will be included in the list. We are already working on this project," Siddarth adds.

Besides schools, the site provides search links to 70 career options like journalism, aviation and photography. Another section is on engineering institutions. The USP of the site is that it lists entrance test details and provides entrance forms for competitive examinations to be held in near future. A separate detailed page has been created for management (MBA) courses.

In future, more details regarding admissions, including competitive examination held in the country, will form the part of the site. It will include syllabus/test papers. "A book section will also be included shortly," Siddarth says.

When asked to comment on admissions through donation in reputed schools, the man behind the site says: "It’s a big notorious mafia consisting of dalals who are creating such an atmosphere and causing harm to the interest of education."

The site designing is clean and the concept is new. Only that the drop-down career section consists of a few oversights. Coast Guard is Cost Guard, Distance is Distace and Handloom is Handlom. This apart, a few career areas overlap like military and the NDA. "Thanks for pointing it out. This will be taken care of instantly," says Siddarth.