Age of admission for Class 1 in Kerala will continue to be 6
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Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala State Minister for General Education B Sivankutty said that the age for admissions to Class 1 in the state will remain five, The Hindu reported.
The minister said that making any sudden change to the minimum age of admission to six years will create problems; the minister told reporters at a press meet on Wednesday.
If the age criterion is introduced for Class 1 admission, there will be no students to join the first class in a year. Children who have completed five years of age have already reached the first grade.
If it is changed to the age of six, the children currently in the first class will not be able to be promoted to the second class. Children who have completed six years of age in the first class will not be admitted.
Days ago, the Union education ministry wrote states and union territories to fix the minimum age to Class 1 as 6. It was the third time the Centre asked states and UTs to fix the age, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP). The Centre issued similar notices in 2021, following the launch of NEP, and in 2022.
It was last year that Kerala decided not to increase the minimum age to six. Minister Sivankutty said that the state government would bring clarity on the matter in the next academic year with respect to the MA Khader Committee report on school education.
On Wednesday, Sivankutty said that Kerala schools registered good numbers in enrollment and few dropouts. There were children enrolled in kindergarten at the age of three and were ready to join Class 1 at the age of 5. Citing this, he said that there is no need to delay their entrance by a year.
He reminded that states have the right to decide on matters of education, and Kerala decided to keep the age for admission to Class 1 to 5 years.