Maharashtra to Revise Minimum School Entry Age to 3 Years Starting 2024
Maharashtra to Revise Minimum School Entry Age to 3 Years Starting 2024
Beginning with the upcoming academic year, only three-year-olds will be permitted to attend nursery, according to senior state officials.
This regulation, which is currently undergoing finalization, will guarantee that Maharashtra’s admission standards comply with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which stipulates that a child must be six years old to enroll in Class I.
Nursery admissions have already started, but educators are hoping that the revised policy will be implemented for the 2024–2025 school year.
The practice of some schools starting nursery classes with students as young as 30 months old (or 2.5 years old) has been criticized by some educators.
According to a state education officer, a new admissions age policy is being developed. It will become effective for the 2024–2025 academic year when they make their announcement soon. To guarantee that kids begin school at age three, the age requirements are being changed. The ministry responsible for overseeing the aanganwadis, women and child development, is working with us to draft the new policy.
In a letter to Governor Ramesh Bais, the Early Childhood Association (ECA) requested his help in getting the state government to set a minimum age of three years old for kindergarten entry.
According to the ECA members, Maharashtra is one of the few states that hasn’t changed the entrance age, allowing a large number of kids to enter grade 1 at 5 or 5.2 years old.
According to the current Maharashtra government resolution, a child starting school for the first time must finish three years by December 31 of that year.
According to the ECA’s founder, children start nursery at age 2.5 and enter grade one at age 5.5. Schools start in April or June.
Principal of a school stated that the entry age is decreasing. Children in the nursery should be in a playgroup, she said. There are instances from all over the world where kids enroll in school later in life and where starting school too early benefits no one. Furthermore, there must be consistency between the state’s recommendations and those found in the NEP. More mature kids have more developed minds, so they are better able to adapt to new environments, comprehend teachers, and relate to the lessons being taught.
