On Thursday the Education Minister of Karnataka School BC Nagesh explained that the policy of placing six years as the age for children to get admission in class 1 will be applied only after two academic years, from 2025-26.
The Minimum Age for Class 1 Admission in Karnataka is Now 6 Years
The Karnataka High Court recently rejected a 4-year-old girl’s petition to join LKG class in 2023-24. The court upheld the state education department’s rule that the minimum age for Class 1 admission should be 6 years as on June 1. This aligns with the guidelines of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
What was the Case About?
A 4-year-old girl born in 2019 joined pre-KG class in 2021. In 2023, the school collected fees for LKG but later said she was ineligible. The school cited a new Karnataka government order fixing the minimum age for Class 1 at 6 years, to be enforced from 2025-26. The girl’s family challenged this in the High Court.
What was the Reasoning for Increasing the Minimum Age?
Earlier, the minimum age limit was 5 years and 5 months in Karnataka. The NEP 2020 recommends increasing this to 6 years. The idea is to ensure that children have adequate pre-primary education and exposure before entering primary school.
As per the NEP, the pre-primary stage is from age 3 to 6 years. The Karnataka education department wants to align with this guideline. Children will get an extra year of foundation before Class 1.
What are the Benefits of Increasing the Minimum Age?
- – Children will be better prepared for primary education after pre-primary schooling from age 3-6 years.
- – Extra year allows for stronger foundations in areas like languages, maths, motor skills.
- – Reduces pressure on younger children in Class 1 curriculum.
- – Brings Karnataka in line with the NEP 2020 vision.
When Will the New Rule be Implemented?
The rule will be enforced for admissions to Class 1 from the academic year 2025-2026. So children need to complete 6 years as on June 1, 2025 for admission to Class 1 in 2025-26.
A lot of parents who had admitted their children to LKG and UKG at an early age are worried about losing a year, if their child is not yet 6 years old when he/she comes to class 1.
Those Parents who have already admitted their kids have no need to worry about their children who have not completed the age limit of 6 years.
The Education Minister of Karnataka School BC Nagesh allows the kids to be promoted to class 1 for the current academic year, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Minister also said that according to education experts, it was not suitable to apply academic pressure on students under 6 years. Because the mental ability of kids aged is 5 and 6 has a lot of differences, BC Nagesh said that 23 states in India have already fulfilled this policy.
There is a 5 year and 5 month age limit at the moment. It is mandatory by the department of Karnataka education that children be six years of age to enter class 1 in schools in Karnataka should be six years as of 1st June 2022. The new rule applies to The commissioner of public instruction for prospective students.
A child under five years of age may not have the mental capacity to get concepts of class 1 said an officer with the education department. The child will stress out and it will be affected by psychological aspects.
The officer said. that it is not a right thing to snatch away the early childhood activities and pressurize them with academics at the age of 5 years,”