Starting from the upcoming academic year, only 3-year-old children will be eligible for nursery admissions in Maharashtra, announced senior state officials. The move aims to align admission norms with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advocates a minimum age criteria of six years for entry into Class I.

State Director of Primary Education has notified that a new age policy for admission is in the works and will be declared soon. It is expected to come into action from 2024-25 academic year, since nursery admissions are underway for the current year.

Being developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development, which oversees aanganwadis, the updated policy will result in the students entering Class 1 at around 5.5 - 6 years of age.