In a move to align with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the education department of Durg district has announced a new admission rule for nursery classes, set to be enforced from the upcoming academic session of 2024-25. As per the directive, only children who have attained the age of three years will be eligible for admission to nursery classes across all schools in the district. This decision aims to ensure that the admission norms in Durg district are in accordance with the NEP 2020, which stipulates that a child should be six or seven years old upon entering class 1. The new rule seeks to address the practice, particularly prevalent in CBSE-affiliated schools, where children below the age of three are admitted to nursery classes. 

 

Abhay Jaiswal, District Education Officer, emphasized the necessity of this rule for the overall growth of the child and cited its alignment with the crucial guidelines outlined in the NEP 2020. Any school found violating this regulation will face legal action from the education department. Gautam Banerjee, State Coordinator of Right to Education (RTE) Forum, expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating, “We have discussed this issue with education officials of all districts several times, and now Durg district is all set to implement it from the next academic session of 2024-25 in all areas of the district.” The age criteria revision has been a collaborative effort involving the women and child development department, various education-based NGOs, and educationists, according to Banerjee. Dr Vidya Naidu, a School Educationist, voiced concerns over the trend of younger entry ages, emphasizing that joining schools at an early age might not be conducive to the proper growth of children.