Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, May 7: Starting from the academic year 2025-26, the Karnataka Department of School Education has made it mandatory for children to be at least four years old for admission to Lower Kindergarten (LKG) and five years old for Upper Kindergarten (UKG). The directive, issued by the Director of Primary Education, instructs all education officers and school heads to strictly enforce this rule.

Though the regulation requiring children to be four years old for LKG admissions has technically been in effect since the 2023-24 academic year, many schools have failed to comply. This has led to confusion and pressure from parents, particularly regarding the rule that a child must be six years old by June 1 to enter class 1. Due to parental pressure, the implementation of this class 1 rule was relaxed for the 2024-25 academic year.

However, the government has now received complaints that some pre-primary schools and parents continue to flout the age rule by admitting children who have not completed the required age as of June 1. To avoid further confusion and pressure on the government in the future to dilute these regulations, the Department of School Education has decided to enforce the age criteria more strictly.

As per the new guidelines, from the 2025-26 academic year onwards children must have completed 4 years of age by June 1 for admission to LKG or its equivalent and children must have completed 5 years of age by June 1 for admission to UKG or its equivalent.

From the 2026-27 academic year, only children who have completed 6 years of age by June 1 will be eligible for class 1 admission. The department has urged schools and parents to comply fully with these norms to ensure smooth implementation and avoid future complications.