Age Cut-Off Date For Nursery & Class 1 Admissions Relaxed In Maharashtra

For parents in Maharashtra whose kids are either going to start school or are going to class 1, there are some changes that the Government has announced. The state education division has relaxed the date for age criteria for Nursery and Class 1 admissions in the state.

The cut-off date to decide if a child is old enough to be admitted to school was changed from September 30 to December 31 in Maharashtra. The rule will be implemented from the academic year 2021-22.

What Does This Mean?

• The child has to complete three years by December 31 to be eligible for pre-primary/nursery admissions. Similarly, the child should have completed six years by the same date for admission to Class 1. The earlier cutoff date for both was September 30. 
• This means if a child turns six before December 31, he or she would be eligible to be admitted to class I in the ongoing academic year, and won’t have to wait till the next June.
• The new December 31 cut-off date will be applicable to nursery and play-school admissions also.
• 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.

This change in age criteria is applicable to all schools in the state irrespective of board affiliations.

The government’s decision has not been received well by educators in the state as it will lead to much younger children being admitted to pre-primary and class 1 grades. Currently, children over 3 years and 6 years are admitted to pre-primary and class 1 respectively.

Early childhood educators have asked the government to revoke it since it will actually negate the benefits of the New Education Policy (NEP 2020). The NEP 2020 has been formulated with the aim of lightening the load for students by cutting back on the syllabus. (Click here to read more about the NEP 2020)

Image Source : https://www.educationworld.in/

We spoke to Swati Popat Vats- President Podar Education Network & Early Childhood Education about the new resolution and this is how she broke it down for us.

Scroll down to read more about it.