The central government has appealed that the minimum age of the child for admission to the 1st Standard in schools MUST be set at 6 YEARS!
As per the National Education Policy (NEP) of the Central Government, the scope for basic education for 5 years MUST BE provided for children in the age from 3 years of age to 8 years of age!
The first 3 years from 3 to 6 years of age will be at the primary (kindergarten) level. Then going to the 1st & 2nd standards of 2 years will also come under this 5-years bracket of the Basic Education Policy.
As such, the Central Government has emphasized the State Governments follow this Primary Education Policy!
In this regard, a senior official of the Central Ministry of Education shared:
“The National Education Policy (NEP) encourages the provision of compulsory primary education for ALL children from kindergarten (LKG & UKG) up to the 2nd Standard! In this aspect, for the first 3 years of education, children MUST be admitted to the Anganwadis, Government OR Government-aided schools OR private schools! Only this confirmation will confirm the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP).
AS SUCH, THE CENTRAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION APPEALS TO ALL STATE GOVERNMENTS THAT ONLY CHILDREN WITH A MINIMUM AGE OF 6 YEARS (OR ABOVE) MUST BE GIVEN ADMISSION TO THE FIRST STANDARD!
In this regard, one may recall the judgment given in one of the cases by the Supreme Court that: “Giving the utmost consideration to the mental and physical health of the children, admitting children of very young age in schools MUST BE AVOIDED!”
Further, there is 1 more important aspect: Only suitably qualified and trained teachers MUST BE APPOINTED FOR TEACHING IN THESE PRIMARY CLASSES OF THE FIRST 3 YEARS OF EDUCATION! As such, the Central Government has emphasized to the State Governments that ONLY teachers who have completed the 2-year Diploma course of DPSE (Diploma in Primary School Education) MUST be appointed and the required activities MUST BE INITIATED BY THE STATE GOVERNMENTS ACCORDINGLY!
This 2-year Diploma Course has been devised and designed by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCET). SCERT will undertake the task of implementing and supervising this in the States Education and Training Institutes.”