Delhi Model Virtual School receives nearly 800 applications; likely to extend last date

New Delhi: The newly launched Delhi Model Virtual School (DMVS) has received around 800 applications for admission and is likely to extend the last date to apply, an official said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday launched DMVS, claiming that it was 'India's first such platform' where students from across the country will be eligible for admission.

Refuting the AAP leader's claim, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), however, said the first virtual school has already been launched in the country by the Centre in 2021.

"We have received around 800 applications till Friday after the process started from Wednesday. There is not much of a difference gender-wise in terms of applications received till now," an official said.

"The last date for application is September 6 but it will be extended. Still, there are many people who do not know about it, so we do not want people to miss out on the application opportunity," he said.

The official said the new session is likely to start in October.  To reach out to students across the country, the government is using social media pages to share information about the school that will be affiliated with the Delhi Board of School Education (DBSE).

"We are creating awareness about the school through social media. Details about the school are also being shared through teasers on social media," he added.

Talking about the main idea behind the school, he said now that the internet is even more accessible to students, the virtual school will bring them closer to education.

"In the initial days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the access to internet was quite less but now it has risen. We have also seen it among our school children," he said.

"In the initial days of the pandemic,  around 50 per cent to 60 per cent students had internet access but now that has risen to 90 to 95 per cent," he added.

Stressing that the government is not trying to project the school as a one-stop solution, he said the virtual school is for those who want to continue their studies.

"Primary schools are present in every village but the access to secondary school education is still less and every village does not have a secondary school which hampers the education of girls since their parents have inhibitions in sending them out," he said.

"We see more dropouts after class 9. So this will help those people," he added.

While inaugurating, Kejriwal had said the Delhi Model Virtual School (DMVS) will be for classes 9-12 and also prepare students for competitive exams like Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) and Central Universities Entrance Test (CUET).

The application process for the 2022-23 academic session at the school started on Wednesday via its official website www.dmvs.ac.in.

Any child aged between 13 and 18 years, who has completed class 8 from any recognised school can apply for admission in class 9.

The school will not charge any fee and there will be an in-built attendance tracking system in the online platform used for the classes.