Maharashtra: Experts raise concerns over the relaxation in age criteria for nursery, Class 1 admissions

As per a government resolution released on September 18, a child has to complete 3 years by December 31 to be eligible for pre-primary/nursery admissions.

Two days after the state education department relaxed the cut-off date for age criteria to nursery and Class 1 admissions in the state, experts have raised concerns over the new norms.

The earlier cutoff date for both these admissions was set at September 30. This effectively means that a 2.5 year old and a 5.5 year old child can get admission to nursery and Class 1 respectively from 2021-22. (HT file)

As per a government resolution released on September 18, a child has to complete 3 years by December 31 to be eligible for pre-primary/nursery admissions. Similarly, the child should have completed 6 years by the same date for admission to Class 1.

The earlier cutoff date for both these admissions was set at September 30. This effectively means that a 2.5 year old and a 5.5 year old child can get admission to nursery and Class 1 respectively from 2021-22.

Rohan Bhatt, trustee, Children’s Academy Group of schools said, “For CBSE/ICSE schools which begin their academic year in the month of April, even a child who is 2 years 3 months old will be eligible for nursery admissions. This is a big concern for educationists as it might have a detrimental impact on the development of children who start schooling at such a young age. Several research studies have shown the importance of age appropriate learning which might not be achieved in this case.”