NEW DELHI: The Union Education Ministry has once again “reiterated” and directed all states and union territories to “align” their age for admission to class I at six years in line with the National Education Policy 2020.
In a letter, the Education ministry’s Department of School Education and Literacy has “reiterated directions to all the state governments and UT administrations to align their age to admission with the policy and provide admission to class I at the age of 6+ years.” The letter was issued on February 9.
Officials said so far, they haven’t received any communication from any state that they are not in favour of raising the age of admission to six years. “The letter was issued now so that all states could align their policy in line with NEP 2020, which stipulates the age of admission to class I at six years. We issued the letter in February before the admission begins in March,” an official told this newspaper.
According to officials, the Kendriya Vidyalaya schools had already changed their policy and made the minimum age six instead of five years. The NEP 2020 recommends strengthening children’s learning at the ‘foundational stage’ as a national priority.
The foundational stage consists of five years of learning opportunities for all children (3-8 years of age) which includes three years of preschool education and two years of early primary classes I and II. The ministry recently launched learning material for foundational years.
“The policy thus promotes seamless learning and development of children from pre-school to class II. 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 preschools,” said a statement by the ministry.
Besides, the policy will focus on the availability of qualified teachers trained in the age and developmentally-appropriate curriculum and pedagogy for the foundational stage. Under NEP 2020, the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage was also launched last year.