Maharashtra fixes minimum age limits for pre-primary and Class 1 admissions from 2027-28

The Maharashtra government has taken a key decision to set age criteria for admissions in schools from pre-primary up to Class 1. Under it, a child must have completed three years for Balvatika-1, that is, nursery. Completion of four years will be required for Balvatika-2 and five years for Balvatika-3. For admission to Class 1, the child must have completed six years.

The new criteria will be implemented in phases from the academic year 2027-28. Parents will therefore have to keep the prescribed age limits in mind while planning their children's school admissions. However, children currently studying from nursery to Class 1 in the academic year 2026-27 have been kept out of the new criteria.

The state School Education Department issued a Government Resolution on this on October 15. The age criteria have been fixed in line with the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and the guidelines of the National Education Policy. In the state, the way age is counted for admission differs across schools of different education boards. For this reason, the need for uniform criteria for all had been pointed out.

The Central government has also informed the state that a child admitted to Class 1 should be six years of age or older. In keeping with this, the state government has fixed the ages for pre-primary classes and decided to implement them in phases. The scheme will create a consistent age framework from nursery to Class 1.

To run the admission process according to the new age limits, the necessary notices and guidelines will be issued by the Directorate of Primary Education, Pune. Parents will therefore have to prepare keeping in mind three things: the year of admission, the child's age completed as of June 30, and the criteria for the class concerned. The decision has been described as an important step towards making age criteria for admission in the state's schools more consistent.