Bengaluru: After the govt announced a 60-day relaxation for admissions to kindergarten and class 1, some parents are now seeking further relaxation. They want the govt to make five and a half years the cut-off for admission to class 1, as was done last year.In July 2022, the govt had issued an order fixing the age of admission at six years. However, this was not implemented following protests from parents. This year too, parents approached the school education department against the rule, forcing the govt to announce a two-month waiver. Last Thursday, the govt relaxed the age criteria for class 1 by 60 days for the academic year 2026-27.Speaking at the legislative assembly, minister for school education Madhu Bangarappa said the relaxation will be applicable to LKG and UKG admissions too. Thus, this year, a child who is 5 years and 10 months old as of June 1 is eligible for admission. The new rule applies to all govt, aided, and private schools across curricula: state, CBSE, ICSE, and international.However, another group of parents is unhappy. “It is unfair on our children as they have made a relaxation to benefit only a few. So our children are being forced to repeat kindergarten. This will cause emotional stress on them, including loss of confidence. Additionally, it is a financial burden on us,” said a parent.“Last year, the govt said it would never relax the rule again. But it has announced a 60-day relaxation this time. This helps only half the parents. Either it should give full relaxation and bring the age limit back down to five and a half years, or stick to the original stand,” said BV Yogananda, president of Karnataka Private School and Colleges Parents’ Association. “Moreover, the govt should immediately release the new regulation for kindergarten admissions so that this does not repeat,” he added.Govt reduces land lease requirement Yielding to the demand of private schools, the govt has amended its rules, reducing the mandatory land lease requirement from 30 years to 15 for running educational institutions.In a gazetted notification, the govt stated that every private body desiring to establish an educational institution imparting pre-primary, primary, secondary, and higher secondary education should own or have on lease land registered for a minimum period of 15 years. The institutions should submit RTC / e-khata / khata document as proof of land ownership.“The govt has listened to our request to change the lease period. Meanwhile, there are some other issues that need clarity. We will be raising them with the govt soon,” said Shashi Kumar D, secretary of the Association of Primary and Secondary Schools of Karnataka.Meanwhile, the govt has also decided to charge schools for change in the governing council or location. For change in location, the fees are: Rs 50,000 for primary school, Rs 75,000 for secondary school, and Rs 1 lakh for higher secondary school. The fee for change in governing council is Rs 1 lakh, Rs 1.5 lakh, and Rs 2 lakh, respectively.
