The Ministry of Education has mandated all the states and Union Territories to adopt six years as the minimum age for admission to Class 1 in step with the stipulation in the National Education Policy.
The proposal
In a letter to the state governments and the Union Territory administrations, the ministry’s Department of School Education and Literacy has reiterated its directions issued several times since the NEP was launched in 2020.
There are wide variations in the age criteria among states when it comes to admission to Class 1.
There are 14 states and Union Territories that allow Class 1 admission for children who have not completed six years.
Here’s an example- in Assam, Gujarat, Puducherry, Telangana and Ladakh, children who have turned five can get admitted to Class 1. In Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan.
On the other hand, in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Kerala the minimum age is five plus.
On previous occasions, the Centre pointed out that not aligning the minimum age with the NEP stipulation was affecting the measurement of net enrolment ratios in different states.
What the ministry wants
“This anomaly also results in the incorrect reporting of the enrolment of children in age-appropriate classes and hence the incorrect reporting of underage and overage children, thus affecting the net enrolment ratios in different states and at the national level, as well as difficulties in the interstate movement of students and for appearing in various competitive exams,” the ministry told the Lok Sabha on March 28, 2022.
The states and UTs were also requested to prepare a roadmap to ensure smooth transition over the next two-three years.
However, with very little progress made on this front, the Centre has once again reached out to the state governments.
Tussle over classification
The NEP 2020, which envisages a 5+3+3+4 school system, states that the first five years comprise three years of preschool corresponding to the age groups of three-six years and two years of Classes 1 and 2 corresponding to the age group of six-eight years.
However, with no such explicit provision in the Right to Education Act 2009, which states that every child of the age of 6-14 years shall have a right to free and compulsory education in a neighborhood school till the completion of elementary education (defined as education from the first class to the eighth under the Act), many are reluctant to make the switch.
In 2022, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, which comes under the Centre, raised the minimum age for admission to Class 1 to six years.
The move was challenged in the Delhi High court and the Supreme Court, where it was upheld.
