Govt fixes 6+ as age for Class I admission | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: In line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the state govt on Monday fixed 6-plus as the age for admission to Class I. The new directive will come into effect from the 2025-26 academic session. Currently, the minimum age for admission to Class I is 5 years.
The age of the child will be calculated from Sept 1 of that academic year.
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Instead of 5-7 years, now the child should be in the age bracket of 6-8 for Class I admission, said an official source.
According to the notification issued by the school and mass education department, all primary schools will open an additional pre-school class called ‘Sishu Vatika‘ where children in the age group of 5-6 will be admitted for pre-school education. It will also be implemented from 2025-26.
Earlier, the govt had notified that the age of the child should be between three to five years for admission in pre-primary classes. For Class I, the age was to be between five to seven years as of Mar 31 of that academic year.
Prabodh Panda, an educationist, said it is the right thing to start formal education of a child after completing six years of age. The child should learn to speak before writing. “School readiness programmes can be started from five years. Sishu Vatika is a good concept,” Panda said.
Basudev Chhatoi, an academic, welcomed the decision and said the govt notification should be implemented in letter and spirit. “Well-trained teachers should be appointed for pre-school and primary education so that a good citizen can be created,” Chhatoi said.
On Jan 15, the govt took a significant step in educational reform by officially announcing the implementation of NEP 2020. Through a notification issued on Wednesday, the school and mass education department confirmed that the state would adopt the NEP 2020 guidelines while incorporating regional elements to maintain local relevance.
The implementation will see the adoption of the National Curriculum Framework as the state curriculum framework, with necessary modifications to include local context and cultural elements specific to Odisha.
