Kolkata private schools lower admission age to 3 in line with NEP 2020

In accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, some private schools in the city have reduced their admission age cut-offs from four or five to three years.

Don Bosco Park Circus has introduced lower kindergarten (LKG) for children aged four for the new session beginning in April, with plans to start admitting three-year-olds to nursery classes in the 2024-25 session. Apeejay School has introduced nursery classes at its Park Street and Salt Lake campuses for the 2023-24 session, while Mahadevi Birla World Academy has introduced lower and upper nursery sections for children aged two and three, respectively.

Under the NEP, the age cut-offs for school admission are 3+ years for nursery, 4+ years for LKG, and 5+ years for UKG. Private schools without a nursery section will have to set up infrastructure to follow the NEP pre-school guidelines. A circular from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has prompted most CBSE schools to implement the NEP guidelines from the foundation level to Class XII. However, schools in small towns and villages may need to prepare to implement these guidelines immediately.

Apeejay Schools CEO Kiranjit Pannu said, "A CBSE circular mentions that under the NEP, the pre-school system starts from the nursery level with kids of 3+ years. So, we decided to admit kids to nursery from the 2023-24 session itself. We are starting with one section with 25 seats." Don Bosco Park Circus principal Fr Bikash Mandal said, "We are implementing the NEP rules gradually. We are starting with LKG from April 11, and nursery will be introduced from 2024-25. Admission will start from September."

According to the NEP, digital learning in sync with worksheets and age-appropriate curriculum with higher learning outcomes are the goals for early childhood education. The National Task Force for Early Childhood Education Assocham and director of Nalanda Learning System Tamal Mukherjee have welcomed the move, stating that aligning with NEP guidelines will bring a positive change to the education system.