GURGAON: Prudvika will cool her heels in upper KG for another year. Harsh will bide his time in Alpha 1. Ameera will make new friends in UKG 2.What’s common to the three children – Harsh and Ameera in Gurgaon and Prudvika in Noida – is that they are repeating a year in pre-primary, the predicament of many tots in NCR schools who have found their admission to Class 1 delayed after UP and Haryana decided to strictly implement National Education Policy (NEP) rules that set entry age at 6 years.Parents looking to give their kids an early start have for years admitted the toddlers into nursery at the age of 3, followed by UKG at 4 and Class 1 at 5.Though NEP and its guidelines have been around for several years, schools did not turn away 3-year-olds coming for nursery admissions.As a result, strict implementation of the 6-year rule for Class 1 has forced a ‘drop year’ on scores of kids studying in Gurgaon, which is known for elite international schools, as well as Noida and Ghaziabad.This academic year, only kids who have turned 6 by March 31 are allowed admission into Class 1.Schools, meanwhile, have innovated with new intermediate classes like UKG 2 and Alpha 1 to keep the children on their rolls.A part of the Class 1 syllabus is being taught in these classes to ensure the learning curve for kids doesn’t plateau, parents and teachers told TOI.“But what’s the logic behind such strict implementation of age rules? Which class a child should sit in should only be based on the child’s ability to learn,” a parent who asked not to be named said.Other parents these correspondents spoke to said the age rule should have been strictly enforced only for new nursery admissions – the way Delhi is doing it – and forcing it on pre-schoolers already in the system made no sense.In Delhi, the age rule so far applies to fresh admissions, with entry to Bal Vatika 1 fixed at 3+ years and Class 1 at 6+ years.NCR schools near Delhi borders that cater to a large number of students from the capital have been allowed a relaxation “till the policy in both states is fully aligned”, a UP education official said.A parent in Gurgaon said her daughter (5), who studies at Millennium School, failed to get into Class 1 this year.“We were not aware or informed about a six-plus criteria being in place for Class 1. My daughter studied with the same classmates since nursery and is academically at the same level, yet she was held back only because she missed the age cutoff by a few days. Several of her classmates who met the age requirement got promoted, but she has been placed in the newly created Alpha KG. It’s unfair on children and unfair to make parents pay for an additional year.“Soni, whose daughter is in Cambridge School, Noida, had to similarly admit her daughter in UKG.“As a result, she is repeating almost the same syllabus she had already covered while several of her classmates have moved on to Class 1,” she said.The revised framework under National Education Policy and National Curriculum Framework mandates that children enter Bal Vatika 1 at the age of three, Bal Vatika 2 at four, Bal Vatika 3 at five and Class 1 only after completing six years.UP govt introduced the 6-year minimum age guideline for admission to Class 1 in April 2024 for the 2024-25 academic session.The basic education department granted a one-time relaxation for the first year, allowing children who turned six by July 31, 2024, to be admitted to Class 1.That relaxation has not been extended to the current academic session.“From this session onwards, all schools are required to strictly follow the minimum age criteria,” said basic education officer OP Yadav.“Having students in the same age bracket also ensures greater uniformity in classroom learning, curriculum delivery and assessment,” he added.Aditi Basu Roy, district president of All India Principals Association in Noida, admitted there was confusion last year over the age norm and the relaxation, but schools are unambiguously following the mandate this year.“All schools are following the default timeline, which is 6 years of age by March 31,” she said.As schools have complied, they have also restructured their pre-primary. Besides Alpha KG and UKG 2, levels such as Foundation Year have been added to maintain continuity.“Our school has started an upper primary section so that students who are not yet 6 but have passed two years of primary can adjust for one more year and build a strong foundation. The new class has some parts of the UKG syllabus, and some of the Class 1 syllabus,” said Harpreet Kaur, principal at Cambridge School, Indirapuram.Arpit Banga, a chartered accountant based in Gurgaon, said his son Naveet missed nursery eligibility by just 10 days.“Every school we approached refused admission. He got admission in a school in Sushant Lok but it later cancelled the admission and refunded the fee. This delay will follow him throughout his academic journey,” said Banga, who wanted his son to start his schooling at 3.Prudvika’s teacher at Grads International School in Noida said she was more than prepared for Class 1 but is repeating a year in KG because she turned 6 in April.“Given that she is a very bright child, she could have coped very well if promoted to Class 1. However, we have to abide by the rule, and thus, a repeat year needs to be there,” the teacher added.Several schools in Noida and Ghaziabad that admit a high number of students took note of dissatisfaction among parents and spoke to the authorities to “adopt a more practical approach”.In these schools, the relaxation remains in place.But this also creates two sets of rules within one city, making it difficult for parents to make decisions on where to admit kids and creating a strange dichotomy in which a child residing in one part of the city can make it to Class 1 at the age of 5 while others are held back till they turn 6.“We cater to a large ratio of Delhi students, so the school had to take a neutral decision. The age criterion for this session continues to have a relaxation of 3 months, according to the previous order,” said Seema Jerath, principal of DLF Public School.Chaitali Mandhotra, a private school teacher in Gurgaon, said, “Every competitive exam has limited attempts and age limits, so admitting a child even a year late can cost them opportunities in future when appearing for national-level exams. This age-restriction policy is problematic because it lacks central standardisation. Delhi is offering relaxations while Haryana is enforcing the rule rigidly, putting some students at a competitive disadvantage.“
