The Kerala government recently announced that the age criteria for Class 1 admissions is raised from five to six years. In Karnataka, where the six-year age criterion was to be implemented 2025-26 academic year onwards, parents are waiting for the final announcement from the government even as school admissions have begun. A section of parents in Karnataka are demanding relaxation on this criterion.
The Union Government in line with the NEP has been sending yearly reminders to all the States/UTs to ensure that the age of admission to Class one is six plus years. Currently, disparities exist in the prescribed age limit for school admission across and within states.
Parents often demand relaxation from the six-year criterion so their child can stay ahead in the race of competitive exams, government jobs, and promotions. Experts including child psychiatrists, educationists, and policy-makers however, warn of the negative impact of this rush towards early admissions.
What do policies say
The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 (RTE Act-2009) and the Rules, 2012, prescribes the age limit for enrolling a child to Class 1 as having compulsorily completed six years as of June 1. The National Education Policy (NEP-2020) has also mandated that the minimum age limit for admission to Class 1 should be six years as of June 1.
Earlier, children in the age group of three to six were not covered in the 10+2 structure, as Class 1 began at age six. In the new 5+3+3+4 structure, a strong base of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) from age three is also included, which is aimed at promoting better overall learning, development, and well-being. The NEP says that over 85% of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs prior to the age of six, indicating the critical importance of appropriate care and stimulation of the brain in the early years to ensure healthy brain development and growth.
Picture in different states
While the majority of State governments have agreed to align the admission age criteria to be at par with the NEP, some still allow Class 1 admissions at five years old. States trying to implement the six-year rule, however, face backlash from parents every year demanding relaxation.
In Karnataka, the Department of School Education and Literacy made the rule mandatory from the 2023-24 academic year and issued an order on July 26, 2022. However, it created confusion and anxiety among parents, after which the Karnataka government gave a relaxation for two academic years. An amended order was issued by DSEL on November 15, 2022, stating that the six-year age completion rule will be implemented from the 2025-26 academic year.
This year, however, parents have demanded relaxation on the rule yet again. A letter by the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) states, “As a result of admitting children to pre-KG (Kindergarten) as per the previous rules, this year, around five to six lakh students are facing difficulty in enrolling in Class 1 after completing UKG. Parents have requested to relax the age limit set for admitting children to Class 1 from the academic year of 2025-26”.
In Kerala, the Minister for General Education, V. Sivankutty, recently announced that the minimum age for Class 1 admission has been raised from five to six years. During the announcement, the Minister said, “Scientific studies suggest children are better prepared for formal education after turning six. That is why all countries with well-developed education systems set the age of entry for formal education at six years or above”.
In Maharashtra, the Early Childhood Association (ECA) complained of disparity in age criterion in school admissions last year. It stated that children are admitted to nursery schools when they are just two and a half years old. Mukund Kirdat, Aam Aadmi Party Parents union says that most parents in Maharashtra enroll their ward in Class one only once they turn six. Under RTE admissions, all the forms are now filled out online so no one can seek admission below the age of six years old. “For both SSC and CBSE boards, the Maharashtra act is in place, which requires age verification for school admission”, he says.
Why do parents wish to enroll early?
Parents are afraid that their children will fall behind by a year in the race for education, jobs, promotions, and more. In the current scenario race for competitive exams like UPSC begins early on. Parents wish their children to be at the forefront. Earlier, parents used to tweak the birthdays of the children on birth certificates, so they could grab a government job earlier in life, serve a longer employment period, get more promotion opportunities and more pensions.
Early enrolment also gets a push by factors like conflicting admission criteria of private unorganised pre-schools. Maalathi K R, Founder and CEO, Auuro Educational Services says that in Tamil Nadu earlier preschool education would start at two years of age – Pre-KG at two years, LKG at three years, UKG at four years, and Class 1 at five. But this has further shifted recently.
The pre-schools now take admissions for playgroup at 1.5 years, Pre-KG at 2.5 years, LKG at 3.5 years, UKG at 4.5 years, and Class 1 at 5.5 years. “If Class 1 criteria are set at six years, there is a six-month gap and parents find it challenging to enroll their ward in mainstream schools”, she said.
What is the right age for enrolment?
Experts say that even though every child has their own pace of growing and achieving key developmental milestones, there is still a need to standardise appropriate age for school admissions.
The book, ‘Winning strategies for parents: Helping your child excel at home and school’, by author and educationist, Gayatri Kalra Sehgal, talks about preschool readiness. It states that between ages three and five children acquire skills necessary for readiness for preschool.
As attention span, memory, and language skills develop they become increasingly ready for preschool. However, few understand that academic abilities are not the primary requisites for pre-schoolers. Childhood pre-school readiness is individual personality and temperament and a combination of mental, physical, and emotional traits.
Ms. Sehgal talks about around 15 developmental milestones, which include: physical development; personal social and emotional development; communications like listening and speaking development; pre-writing development; sensory development; self-help development; cognitive development; mathematical development, and more.
Ms. Sehgal says that six is the appropriate age for certain development milestones that a child needs before entering Class 1. If the child is not ready even at the age of six, they get to develop at their own pace. If some of the 15 development milestones are not developed well, parents and teachers can use the strengths of a child to help them cope in areas they lack. “There is a lot of science behind why the Indian government is insistent on this age criteria. By the age of six a lot of children come at par to take on what is needed for school”, said Ms. Sehgal.
Bhooshan Shukla, a child psychiatrist said that some children can achieve developmental goals before they are six, but some may not. There is, however, a need to standardise age criteria for school admissions, like we have drawn a line for adulthood at 18.
Mr. Shukla explains that when students are in Class 6, they are expected to sit in class for six hours with one short break, listen to their subject teachers, write, answer questions, and do homework. The education system depends a lot on cognitive abilities – understanding by listening, reading, doing things, logic, and more. “Most of the stuff required isn’t achieved before six years. Children shouldn’t start their Class 1 before their sixth birthday”, said Mr. Shukla.
Mr. Shukla says that enrolling a child early can negatively impact them in the long run. He says that if the youngest child in the class is five or five and a half years old, they are more likely to be labelled with psychiatric and behavioral problems like ADHD, and learning difficulties. “At that age, the difference of nine months of one year is 50% of a lifetime, it is like a 30-year-old working with a 40-year-old. There shouldn’t be much gap”, he says.
Herambh Kulkarni, Director, Council for Creative Education, says earlier pre-primary education was not consolidated into primary education. But now that it has been incorporated, things should change for the better, since the curriculum is designed for each stage keeping in mind the one before. “Some pre-schools, though, teach Class 1 syllabus, instead of just conducting activities, which should not happen”, he says.
Ms. Maalathi says that five years is the right age for Class 1 admissions, it can be called the foundational stage. The six-year rule is from the time of RTE, preschool was not recognised at that time. “Brain development now happens in children at a much younger age, so it is okay to start at five”, she said.
The way forward
B. Chandrasekharan, a former consultant to the Union Planning Commission says the gap lies in untimely communication with stakeholders especially the school administration and the parents, it takes away from a smooth admission process.
Mr. Chandrasekharan says some states follow two systems, for the state board system they admit wards aged 5 or 5.5 years old for Class 1 and for the CBSE system, they admit wards aged six years old. These two systems may cause confusion among parents, especially new parents who are admitting first time their ward with the school education system.
Mr. Chandrasekharan says this can be resolved if the state government’s education department can chalk out well-thought-out outreach activities well in advance to create awareness among stakeholders, especially among parents and schools for school admission especially early childhood care and education. Every year, millions of first-time wards are entering into school education. The decision-making process delayed by either the state education department or the expert committee would affect the prospects of parents and their ward in getting school admission and the parents may not make the right choice for their ward.
Published – April 03, 2025 01:53 pm IST