Sishu Vatika to admit children in 5-6 age group

Sishu Vatika to admit children in 5-6 age group

Odisha government on Monday mandated that a child should be of at least six years of age to be admitted to Class I, from the new academic year.

Aligning the existing education system with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, the School and Mass Education department announced that from the new academic session of 2025-26, the age of a child for admission to Class I shall be six years as on September 1 of that academic year. The move is said to be aimed at improving academic outcomes.

This apart, the department has directed all primary schools to open ‘Sishu Vatikas’ from 2025-26 onwards, which will act as additional pre-school classes. Children in the age group of five to six years will be admitted to these Sishu Vatikas for pre-school education.

The state had recently announced implementation of NEP at school-level in a phased manner and in the new academic session, the education policy will be implemented for primary grades. A high-level panel has also been formed to look into the implementation. The education structure under NEP would be 5+3+3+4 instead of the existing 10+2 and it will have four stages – foundational, preparatory, middle and secondary.