The age restriction for admission to class 1 has been set at six to seven years. Children under the age of six will be unable to enrol in first grade. They will have to enrol in Anganwadi. Government Hindi medium schools do not provide pre-primary classes.
Until last year, admission was granted in class 1. However, under the new guidelines, children under the age of six would not be admitted to class 1. According to teacher leaders, the increase in the age limit for admission may result in fewer students enrolling in class 1. There are problems in new admissions.
Since there are no pre-primary classes in government schools, most children under the age of five will have to enrol in private schools. According to teacher leaders, the aim of increasing enrollment by 10% has been set. However, the age limit of six years in class one would lower the number of admissions, thus the government should change it.
Teachers also believe that, just as pre-primary classes are given in Mahatma Gandhi English medium schools, pre-primary classes should be introduced in Hindi medium schools to allow children who are under five years old to attend government schools.
