Centre Asks States, UTs to Uniformly Fix Six Years Minimum Age for Admission in Class 1
NEW DELHI, Feb 22: The central government has directed all the States and Union Territories to fix the minimum age for admission in Class 1 as six years.
The Union Ministry of Education has issued the notification under the new National Education Policy (NEP) in which the foundational stage consists of five years of learning opportunities for all children (between 3 to 8 years) that includes three years of preschool education and then Classes 1 and 2, officials said on Wednesday.
“The policy thus promotes seamless learning and development of children from pre-school to class 2. This can only be done by ensuring accessibility to three years of quality preschool education for all children studying in Anganwadis or government, government-aided, private and NGO-run preschool centres,” MoE officials said.
“The Ministry has directed State Governments and UT administrations to align their age to admission with the policy and provide admission to class 1 at the age of six years and above,” the official added.
(Manas Dasgupta)
