Customary jitters rattle ambitious parents

Nerves are jittery while most are breaking into a cold sweat with the advent of the admission season as ambitious parents begin preparing their offspring, hoping to get them enrolled at renowned state-run high schools, some of which also offer primary education.
For the first time, admission forms will be available online, where it can also be submitted, from December 2 to 12 with the price increased to Tk 150, a hike of Tk 50.
Of the country's 325 government high schools, 32 are present in the capital, of which 14 will enroll around 2,000 youngsters in class I.
However, the beginners will not take exams. Instead a lottery will be held on the school premises, a process initiated in 2010 aiming to end the increasing psychological torment preschoolers were facing as the years progressed.
“Lotteries will be held for schools in Dhaka on December 27 in presence of guardians, teachers, school managing committee, and officials concerned,” Prof Fahima Khatun, director general, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), told The Daily Star yesterday.
For the rest, the schools' district, upazila and school managing committees will hold the lottery for class I and admission test for the others, except class IX, as in previous years, she said.
The lottery process received good response from parents. Yet, they are worried because it is all luck.
“It is solely luck on which we have to depend on,” said Arifur Rahman, aiming to get his son enrolled at Government Laboratory High School.
Parents say the admission issue was always nerve-wracking as there were only a handful of “good” schools in the capital which could not enroll an ever-increasing number of youngsters.
“The government schools are comparatively better...Apart from low costs, these schools have good teachers and environment,” said another guardian.
The admission test for classes II and III comprises a one-hour, 50-mark written test while classes IV to VIII a two-hour, 100-mark one, both covering Bangla, English and mathematics, says a policy issued last week.
Candidates for class IX will be selected based on their Junior School Certificate and Junior Dakhil Certificate results.
DSHE has divided the capital's 32 schools into three zonal groups, A, B, and C, to hold the tests on December 17, 18 and 20 respectively. Results will be published on December 30.