The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) has created a dilemma for parents in the city over the minimum age requirement for Class I. This article discusses the confusion and provides insights into the new policy.
The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP), which requires a minimum age of six to enrol in class I, has perplexed city parents. The law, which is still not being implemented by the Telangana government, has created a lot of ambiguity because some schools have embraced NEP while others are still following the state’s original mandate, which is five and a half years.
Several CBSE and ICSE schools have already made the changeover, while others are providing parents the choice. In February, the Government directed Telangana and 14 other states and UTs to raise the minimum age for admission to class 1 to six years in order to achieve uniformity throughout India.
Sridhar Maddela, a city father, had applied for admission to Army School Bolarum in December, when the age limit was five years. They were informed in February that the school was following the NEP guideline and that their five-year-old son was no longer eligible. They chose to enrol him somewhere because the NEP regulation was not being observed, but the new school advised that they enrol him at the age of six.
Srikanth Renikunta’s twins had to retake LKG since the school they were enrolled in insisted on LKG starting at the age of four. Srikanth’s twins had to retake LKG since their ages did not fulfil the age requirements for entrance to the new school.
Nevertheless, school administrators stated that implementing it this year was difficult since the regulation was not enforced by either the state or the Centre, and the uncertainty regarding youngsters accepted in LKG/UKG based on old age requirements has not been resolved.
Children were enrolled in LKG at the age of three two years ago; today they are five. If the age of six is enforced, there will be an age discrepancy within the same class.
Academics, on the other hand, believe that the move to NEP age requirements is both unavoidable and advantageous. Seetha Murthy, director of Silver Oaks International School and chairman of the Hyderabad Sahodaya Schools Complex, recommends that parents enrol their children in class 1 when they are six years old. This is because if a kid enrols at the age of five, he or she may be required to retake a subject later while moving schools.
Nevertheless, Vakati Karuna, secretary of education, said that Telangana will not immediately apply the NEP-recommended minimum age criterion for class 1. But, the state government has another quandary: how to implement the new 5+3+3+4 policy in place of the 10+2 regulation, given that the state runs class 10 and class 12 under two distinct boards.
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