Delhi government has announced a major education breakthrough by fixing the minimum age for Class 1 admission at six years starting from the 2026-27 academic session. ]
Delhi Government Class 1 Admission Age Fixed
The Delhi government has issued a circular from the Directorate of Education (DoE) announcing a uniform minimum admission age of 6 years for Class 1 across government, government-aided and recognised unaided private schools, effective from the academic session 2026-27. This move is part of a larger restructuring of the foundational stage to align local admission norms with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Under the revised structure, the DoE has defined age brackets (age as on March 31): Nursery (Balvatika 1/Pre-School 1) — 3 to 4 years; Lower KG (Balvatika 2/Pre-School 2) — 4 to 5 years; Upper KG (Balvatika 3/Pre-School 3) — 5 to 6 years; and Class 1 — 6 to 7 years. School heads are allowed a narrow discretionary relaxation of up to one month on both minimum and maximum age limits for admissions from Nursery through Class 1.
The DoE circular clarifies transitional arrangements so current students are not disrupted: children enrolled in Nursery, KG and Class 1 in the 2025-26 session will be promoted under the existing structure for 2026-27, and the new age criteria will not be applied retrospectively to them. Parents should therefore note that the rules affect new admissions beginning 2026-27, not those already studying.
