Children to be admitted at age 6 in class 1 from the 2026-27 academic session; how will it impact learning?
From the next academic session, i.e. 2026-27, Delhi Directorate of Education will open admission in all government, aided and recognized private schools for children of class 1 who have completed six years of age by March 31 of the admission year.
Delhi: Children will be admitted to class 1 at the age of 6 from the academic session 2026-27
Getting accepted into schools is the first big step as it shapes an individual’s entire life. It provides the child with an environment for his/her initial learning and growth. But children in Delhi will now start their learning journey a little later. From the next academic session, i.e. 2026-27, Delhi Directorate of Education will open admission in all government, aided and recognized private schools for children of class 1 who have completed six years of age by March 31 of the admission year.
The Ministry of Education announced the move last week through an official circular aligning Delhi’s school system with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which focuses more on age-appropriate and play-based learning during the child’s most crucial years.
The Center introduced Balvatika under the New Education Policy (NEP) in all CBSE schools (also available in KV schools), a pre-school education program aimed at developing basic skills such as literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional abilities in children.
According to the new system, entry-level education is divided as follows:
– Kindergarten (Balvatika 1): admission of children aged 3-4 years
– Lower KG (Balvatika 2): Acceptance of children aged 4-5 years
-Upper KG (Balvatika 3): Acceptance of children aged 5-6
-Class 1: Acceptance of children aged 6-7 years
The Ministry of National Education has opened the scope of admission of children who are up to one month above the cut-off age for admission to these courses or who are below this age limit. The new rule does not apply to students enrolled before the 2026-27 session.
According to officials, the implementation of the new system will be done in phases and children admitted to Lower and Upper KG (Balvatika 2 and 3) will be applicable in government schools from 2027-28.
This move was made after experts identified a huge gap in the cognitive and emotional attention of children admitted to primary school at different ages.
