Uniform age norms to apply to all government, aided and private schools under NEP 2020
Raipur, July 9, 2026/ The Chhattisgarh Government has fixed the minimum age for admission to Class I at six years from the next academic session in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Education. School Education Secretary Dr. Kamal Preet Singh has issued necessary instructions to the concerned departments and all District Education Officers to implement the new age norms.
According to the directions, admissions will be determined on the basis of a child’s age as on April 1 of the relevant academic session to strengthen the foundational stage of education and ensure uniformity in the admission process at the primary level. Under the revised norms, children seeking admission to Nursery (Balvatika-1) must be above three years and below four years of age; those applying for KG-I (Balvatika-2) must be above four years and below five years; those seeking admission to KG-II (Balvatika-3) must be above five years and below six years; and children admitted to Class I must be above six years and below seven years of age.
To facilitate admissions, the state government has provided a special relaxation of up to three months. Children who do not attain the prescribed age by April 1 but complete it by July 1 will be eligible for admission to the respective class under this provision.
The revised age norms will apply uniformly to all government, government-aided and private schools across the state. The provisions will also be applicable to admissions against the 25 percent seats reserved under the Right to Education (RTE) Act in private schools.
The new age criterion will not apply to students promoted from the pre-primary section of a recognised school directly to Class I. Such students will be granted admission on the basis of the date of birth recorded in their Transfer Certificate (TC), marksheet or scorecard.
The School Education Department has directed all District Education Officers to ensure strict compliance with the revised norms through Block Education Officers, Cluster Coordinators and heads of schools. Officials have also been instructed to widely publicise the new provisions to ensure that parents are fully informed.
