Six Indian States Lag in Adopting Minimum Age Rule for Grade 1 Admissions

New Delhi. Despite repeated directives from the Centre, six Indian States and Union Territories have yet to align school admission policies with the nationally mandated minimum age of six years for entry into Grade 1, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, and Chhattisgarh continue to follow admission norms that diverge from requirements laid down under the National Education Policy of 2020 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act. The Centre has asked States and Union Territories to strictly enforce the revised age threshold beginning with the upcoming academic session.

Officials said that 30 States and Union Territories have already brought their admission rules in line with the policy, which requires children to have completed six years of age before entering Grade 1, moving away from the earlier practice that allowed admissions at five years.

The directive is rooted in structural reforms introduced by NEP 2020, which reconfigured India’s school system into a 5+3+3+4 framework. Under this model, children aged three to eight fall within the foundational stage, comprising three years of pre school education followed by two years of primary schooling. Policymakers argue that formal learning outcomes improve when early childhood education is structured and age appropriate.

Prior to the policy shift, children between the ages of three and six were largely outside the formal schooling framework. Education officials say the revised structure reflects growing evidence that cognitive and social development during early childhood is critical to long term academic performance and overall well being.

In 2023, the Ministry of Education formally instructed States and Union Territories to phase out the five plus age norm for Grade 1 admissions. The position was reiterated in subsequent communications, including a notice issued in February 2024, which underscored that only children aged six years and above should be admitted to Grade 1.

“The policy is unambiguous,” a senior official said. “States and Union Territories have been asked to bring their admission frameworks into full compliance. The expectation is uniform implementation from the next academic cycle.”

The Centre’s latest outreach signals a renewed push to standardize foundational education norms nationwide, amid concerns that uneven adoption could undermine the objectives of NEP 2020 and widen disparities in early learning outcomes across regions.

Education departments in the remaining States have not publicly indicated timelines for compliance.