A group of concerned parents with children in Upper Kindergarten (UKG) have formally appealed to the Commissioner of Public Instruction, requesting a 90-day relaxation in the age eligibility cut-off for Class 1 admissions in the 2026–27 academic year.
Under current Karnataka state policy, a child must have turned six years old by June 1 to qualify for entry into Class 1. However, this requirement excludes children born between June 2 and August 31, many of whom have completed UKG and are developmentally prepared for primary school. The parents argue that enforcing the cut-off strictly would compel their children to repeat UKG only due to their birthdate, not academic readiness.
In their petition, parents cited the precedent set in 2025–26, when the Education Department allowed children aged 5 years and 5 months who had finished UKG to be admitted to Class 1. That temporary concession, made after consultation with the State Education Policy Commission, benefited thousands of families.
Parents now worry that without a similar relaxation, children from the upcoming batch will face discrimination despite being at the same learning level. They have urged the department to issue a circular granting a 90-day age extension for 2026–27 admissions to maintain consistency and fairness.
This issue stems from a policy update in July 2022, when Karnataka raised the minimum age for Class 1 from 5.5 to 6 years to align with the Right to Education Act and National Education Policy 2020, with full implementation starting from the 2025–26 academic year.