The arrest of a woman who would allegedly take money from willing parents to get their children admitted to some of Calcutta's reputable schools has turned the glare on procedures in the admission system that might have helped the racket thrive.

Some of the schools suspected to be part of 45-year-old Manju Rathi's circle of influence had introduced changes in the admission system over the years that made the selection process less transparent, several teachers told Metro on condition of anonymity.

At least three schools have stopped drawing up merit lists based on their admission criteria and introduced a system of sending out letters of acceptance or rejection to parents of individual candidates. In at least one school, the principal had no say in the admission shortlist ostensibly prepared on the basis of interviews, an insider alleged.

In two of the schools in question, 80 per cent of the seats are filled through interviews while the remaining ones are allegedly kept vacant despite hundreds of applicants in the queue. There is no particular method that these institutes follow to fill up the vacant seats.

Alumni are allowed to play a major role in the admission process in at least a couple of schools, something that was unheard of a few years ago.

Based on conversations with people associated with some top schools in the city, Metro highlights how rules and processes are tweaked to allegedly allow back-door entry.

Letter over list

Three city schools have been sending letters of acceptance or rejection to parents of applicants for seats, a deviation from the earlier - and according to some, more transparent - practice of putting up lists either on the notice board or the website.

Schools now publish a shortlist of candidates for interviews, based on scrutiny of the applications received. Once the interviews with the candidates and their parents are completed, the schools send out letters of acceptance or rejection.

"Earlier, these lists would be displayed on the notice boards and anyone could come and check them. Somewhere along the way, the process changed. Anything that is in the public domain means there is no effort in trying to hide it. Not publishing the list is tantamount to compromising transparency," said a teacher who was once associated with one of these schools.

Although this does not necessarily mean corruption has seeped into the system, it does suggest "a tendency to sacrifice transparency that is unacceptable", a teacher said.

Acceptance or rejection letters are usually sent by post. If it does not reach the addressee or gets delayed, a parent has no way of knowing whether the child has made the cut unless he or she knows someone in the school management.

An official of a missionary-run school that publishes admission lists said this was meant to convey the message that there was nothing secretive about the process. His counterpart in a school that no longer releases admission lists said the change was intended to quell "unnecessary curiosity" among parents about how others had fared in the selection process.

No principal player

The principal of at least one top school lost his say in the admission process along the way and the list of applicants selected for admission was henceforth entirely drawn up on the basis of decisions taken by the school board, a source said.

Previously, applications would be scrutinised by members of the board and the principal before calling candidates for interviews. "This list would swell every year, and after the interviews, another one would be drawn up with the principal's opinion on who should be selected being as important as that of the rest of the panel," the source said.

The trend of the principal being asked to put a signature on the final list of candidates selected by the management is said to have started around 2011. "The principal objected because the person had no idea how the list was drawn up. Refusal to sign it didn't work. Finally, letters of acceptance were sent to the parents from the school office without the principal's consent," an insider said.

Although the principal had been part of the interview process, it was a formality. He wasn't sure his remarks for or against each candidate had any bearing on their selection or otherwise," the source said.

A teacher said it was shocking to see a principal having no say in the admission process.

Another person associated with the process said that previously admission was never any single person's decision. "The interview panel would include two board members, the head of the nursery section and also the principal. At the end of each day of interviews, the panel would decide who would be taken in, and it was always a tough call given the ratio of applicants to seats."

Back door stays ajar

The system of not filling all seats is a convenient way of allowing back-door entry later, say those in the know.

At least three schools are known to select 80 candidates against 100 seats, leaving 20 vacant. In the absence of a fixed procedure to fill these seats, there is widespread suspicion that the bulk of them allegedly feed the cash-for-seats racket.

At the time of applying for a child's admission, schools as a rule ask the parents to provide personal details such as contact numbers and annual income. These details are often allegedly divulged to outsiders, who later approach parents whose wards don't make the cut. A list is usually drawn up taking into consideration parents' income, place of residence and sometimes even their community, a source said.

Deals are allegedly struck mostly over phone and the willing parents are asked to visit the school on a particular day for admission once everything is settled.

Some of the vacant seats are, of course, for candidates recommended by "well-wishers of the school and people with influence", the source said.

Past pupils in future

The alumni route to admission has become more pronounced in three schools that receive hundreds of applications every year for a handful of seats. Children of past pupils would always get preference, but the new trend that has triggered whispers of unfair selection is that candidates recommended by alumni are getting admission too.

"We understand that our school has produced many brilliant students who have gone on to become well-known people. Some of them have even helped in their alma mater's development by contributing or raising funds. No harm is done if they seek a favour someday, but what worries us is the increase in the number of students coming in through alumni recommendations," said an official of one of the schools.

Some institutes have different categories of seats such as one based on community, another for siblings of present students and a third for children of alumni. "Seats are filled with candidates recommended by alumni if there are not enough claimants in a category," the official said.