Now admission to first class will be given only after the age of 6 years, the rule will be applicable from next session

The Delhi government has made a big change under the Education Policy 2020 and has fixed the minimum age for admission in first class from 2026-27 as 6 years. Now three-level pre-primary education from nursery to upper KG will be necessary.

Delhi Schools Admissions: If your child is going to get admission in first class in the next few years, then this news is very important for you. The Delhi government has made an important change under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and has decided that now only those children who are at least six years old will get admission in first class in all the schools of the capital. This change will be implemented from the academic session 2026-27 and its aim is to give stronger basic education to the children than before. This new rule will have to be followed by all types of schools, government, aided and private.

According to the report of Dainik Jagran, till now most of the schools in Delhi had only two classes, Nursery and KG (or UKG) and children used to get admission in the first class at the age of about five years. But now under the new system, three levels of pre-primary education have been made compulsory.

Nursery (at the age of 3 years)

Lower KG (LKG) (at the age of 4 years)

Upper KG (UKG) (at the age of 5 years)

Only after this, the child will get admission in the first class and by then his age should be six years.

What is the thinking behind the change?

This decision of the Delhi government has been taken in accordance with the National Curriculum Framework (NCF-FS), in which the age of 3 to 8 years has been considered as the "Foundational Stage". In this stage, it has been said to give children play, activity and discovery based education, so that they can develop interest and understanding about studies from the beginning.

Director of Education Directorate Vedita Reddy said that before this change, the government will also seek suggestions from all the concerned parties. Teachers, parents, school management committees and common people can send their suggestions to schoolbranchnep@gmail.com by July 10, 2025.

Schools will have to prepare

To implement this change, schools will need new infrastructure. According to experts, for this, amendment is also necessary in the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, as it currently has a provision for a minimum age of five years. Along with this, schools will also have to make arrangements for trained teachers and additional classes, so that foundational stage studies can be implemented in a better way.