Team Herald
PANJIM: The State government has finally rolled out the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 at the foundation stage, directing schools to ensure that a child, who has completed three years as on May 31, is enrolled in the first year of nursery class.
The NEP has paved the way for restructuring of the 10+2 structure in school education to a new pedagogical and curricular restructuring of 5+3+3+4 covering ages 3-18. Currently, children in the age group of 3-6 are not covered in the 10+2 structure as Class 1 begins at age 6.
Directorate of Education (DoE) on Tuesday issued a circular to all schools having nurseries to classes that the age of admission of the child should be three years for the first year nursery from the academic year 2021-22.
“It has been decided, in terms of the National Education Policy - 2020, to inform all the heads of the institutions having nursery classes that the age for admission of the child from academic year 2021-2022 onwards for the first year of nursery class shall be three (3) years complete on or before May 31,” the circular issued by Education Director D R Bhagat states.
When contacted, Bhagat said the new education policy has made ‘early childhood care and education’ (ECCE) for children aged 3 to 6 part of the school education for the first time.
The new education policy proposes a new curricular and pedagogical structure, with 5+3+3+4 design covering children in the age group 3 to 18 years. Under this there is five years of the foundational stage: 3 years of pre-primary school and Grades I, II.
As per the current education system, nursery, lower KG, upper KG is under pre-primary category, while the primary includes Class I to IV.
The policy aims to universalise the pre-primary education (age range of 3 to 6 years) by 2025 and provide foundational literacy and numeracy for all by the same year.