Ajit Karn
Wednesday, the Education Minister of Kerala, V Sivankutty, reaffirmed that students will continue to be admitted at the age of 5.
The Union Education Ministry instructed all states and Union Territories to admit students only at the age of six to Class 1.
“The minimum age for entry into the first grade in the state will remain at five.” The prevalent practice in the country is to enroll children in the first grade at age five. Only by gaining the people’s confidence and persuasion can the age restriction be raised. Therefore, it has been resolved to allow parents to enroll their children in kindergarten at age five,” Shivakutty told reporters.
He added that there is no need to alter Kerala’s education system, which serves as a “role model” for the entire nation.
Minister Sivankutty stated that “Parents who wish to enroll their children in Class 1 at age five can do so beginning in June of the next academic year,”
“There are advantages to employing such a strategy. All children of school-going age are enrolled in school, and their education is uninterrupted through the 12th grade,” he said.
The Department of School Education and Literacy within the Union Education Ministry has recently instructed all states and UTs to “align their age of admission with the policy and provide admission to Grade-I at the age of six or more years.”
“In accordance with the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) for strengthening of learning of children at the ‘foundational stage’ as a national priority for the country, the Education Ministry has reiterated directions to all the State Governments and UT administrations to align their age to admission with the policy and provide admission to Grade-I at the age of six,” the Union Education Ministry said in a statement released in early February.
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“This can only be accomplished by ensuring that all children enrolled in Anganwadis, Government or Government-aided, private, and NGO-run preschools have access to three years of quality preschool education,” it added.
