Illegal to make children below three attend pre-school, says Gujarat High Court
As per the New Education Policy 2020, children are expected to be admitted at three years for nursery, four years for Lower Kindergarten (LKG), and five years for Upper Kindergarten (UKG).
In a landmark ruling, the Gujarat High Court in western India has deemed it an “illegal act” for parents to force their offspring under the age of three to attend pre-school.
The court arrived at this conclusion while dismissing a series of petitions that challenged the state government’s decision to set six years as the minimum age prerequisite for Class one admission in the 2023-24 academic year.
The petitions were put forth by a collective of parents, whose children would not have turned six by June 1, 2023. They were contesting the state government’s notification issued on January 31, 2020, which outlined the age limit for admission to Class 1 in the 2023-24 academic year.
The petitioners implored the court to permit children who had completed three years in pre-school but hadn’t reached the age of six by June 1, 2023, to be admitted for the current academic year. They contended that refusing admission would infringe upon their child’s right to education.
The Court’s Verdict
The Gujarat High Court stood firm in its declaration that it is unlawful for parents to coerce their children into attending pre-school before the age of three. The court observed, “Forcing children to go to a pre-school below the age of three years is an illegal act on the part of the parents who are petitioners before us.”
Moreover, the court reminded the petitioners that they “cannot seek any leniency as they are guilty of violation of the mandate of the Right to Education Rules (RTE), 2012 of the Right to Education Act, 2009”. The court referred to the law that grants all Indian children above the age of six the right to education. The court further clarified: “The right conferred upon a child by the constitutional provision of Article 21A and Section 3 of the RTE Act, 2009 begins after completion of the age of six years.”
The Rule’s Implications
As per the New Education Policy 2020 — heralded as one of the most revolutionary reforms in the Indian education system by Prime Minister Modi’s administration — children are expected to be admitted at three years for nursery, four years for Lower Kindergarten (LKG), and five years for Upper Kindergarten (UKG).
This stipulation implies that children must complete a three-year foundational course before entering Class 1 at the age of six.
However, it has been reported that numerous pre-schools in Gujarat and other regions still adhere to the previous criteria, where the age requirement for nursery class admission was set at 2.5 years.
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