Hyderabad: It has been two years since the age criteria for admission in class 1 was announced, but even now, confusion over the the matter continues as many parents complain that their children are not promoted to the next class due to age criteria.
As per the central govt, a child should be at least six years old to join class 1. However, the state has not taken any decision, leaving parents completely at the mercy of schools, as some admit children at age 6 and others at 5.
“My son is now in class 2 and is six and a half years old. While some schools are saying that he is eligible to be promoted to class 3, others are asking me to join him in class 2 again. I am frustrated with the different criteria schools are implementing,” said Praveen Kumar, a parent.
He said that although Telangana is not implementing the age criteria, some schools are forcing parents to follow central govt rules or the ones under the National Education Policy 2020, thereby wasting students’ time and parents’ money by making a child repeat the same class.
Another parent, Lakshmi T, who has a three-and-a-half-year-old son, said that she too is confused and cited it as a reason for not taking admission for her child in the academic year 2024-25 in kindergarten. “I don’t want to waste my money by making him repeat kindergarten if schools fail to admit him in class 5 citing age criteria. Instead, we chose to home-school,” she added.
Principals and managements, meanwhile, said that apart from schools affiliated with the state board, most schools are following the age criteria as they are answerable to respective boards – CBSE, ICSE, etc.
“There is no clarity among the parents for sure. They come and fight with us, asking why we are not giving admission to their child when others are ready for it. They don’t understand that schools come under different boards. Unless the Telangana govt implements the age criteria, this confusion will continue to persist,” said Sunir Nagi, academic director and principal, Delhi School, Kompally, which is under the Hyderabad Sahodaya Schools Complex, which has most CBSE schools in Greater Hyderabad as its members.
