The Department of Education in Karnataka has upped the age for admission into class one to six years from the existing five years and five months.

The child must have completed the age of six years before June 1 of the academic year to be eligible for admission into any government aided or private unaided schools.

A circular issued by the department of public instruction on Tuesday said that this was being done in sync with the norms under the Right to Education Act (RTE Act) as already implemented by various other states. Also, this would be in alignment with the National Education Policy 2020.

The order, however, does not mandate an age for admission into pre-primary schools.

It may be recollected that a previous government order passed in 2018 had it that the minimum age for admission into class one had to be five years and five months. This was implemented from 2020 when the child had to be a minimum 3.5 years to be admitted into LKG.

Responding to this, D Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Associated Managements of Private Schools in Karnataka said, “Yet again, the department has passed an order that is bound to create chaos. It has been two months since admissions took place and now an order pertaining to the age limit has been passed. This will create confusion. Hence, we seek that this be applicable only from the next academic year to avoid any issues.” The order does not specify the academic year from which this will be implemented.

Basavaraj Guikar, president, Akhila Bharata Teachers Federation opposed the move stating that this would be a drawback for students right at the start of their education. He said that the education department should rather focus on other key aspects of the RTE act and provide basic amenities in schools, improve the standard of education and ensure teacher recruitments are done on time. 

Also read: Supreme Court: Minimum age criteria for class I admission is six years