Maharashtra sets minimum age of six for Class 1 admission from 2030-31, phased in from 2027-28

Nagpur: Parents in Maharashtra will now have to plan their children's school admissions around a new age-based timetable. The state government has decided that from the 2030-31 academic year, the minimum age for admission to Class 1 will be six years.

The school education department has issued a Government Resolution (GR) to this effect. The new rules will be applied in phases, beginning with nursery admissions in 2027-28. The government aims to bring a uniform age norm for pre-primary and primary education in schools affiliated to different boards.

Under the new rules, a child must complete the prescribed minimum age by June 30 of the relevant academic year. The government says schools affiliated to the Maharashtra State Board, CBSE, CISCE and IB followed different age cut-off dates, which led to inconsistent admission conditions. Whether a child meets the required age will now be judged only against the June 30 date.

The change will come in gradually over four academic years and covers nursery, junior KG, senior KG and Class 1. The timetable is as follows:

In 2027-28, the minimum age for nursery or Balvatika-1 will be three years. In 2028-29, it will be four years for junior KG or Balvatika-2. In 2029-30, it will be five years for senior KG or Balvatika-3. And in 2030-31, it will be six years for Class 1.

According to the state government, the new framework will bring more uniformity to admissions and align the state's admission policy with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The GR also refers to the Centre's advice that a child should be above six years of age at the time of admission to Class 1. The absence of a common minimum age for pre-primary classes had also led to differences in schools' admission practices. The phased rollout is meant to give parents and educational institutions time to adjust to the new conditions.

Children already studying will not be affected. The new age conditions will apply to fresh admissions, while children already admitted from nursery to Class 1 in the 2026-27 academic year will be exempt. According to the GR, students who have passed the previous class at a recognised school will also be exempt from these age conditions when seeking admission to the next higher class.

Considering varying circumstances, school heads have been empowered to relax the minimum and maximum age limits by 15 days for admissions from nursery to Class 1. Further instructions and guidelines for implementing the rules will be issued by the Directorate of Primary Education, Pune.

The phased implementation means that parents seeking admission over the next four years will have to check their children's dates of birth against the conditions for that academic year, especially as the state moves towards a minimum age of six for Class 1.