India's Gujarat High Court observes forcing kids below three to attend pre-school is illegal

The Gujarat High Court in western India has declared it an "illegal act" for parents to compel children under the age of three to attend preschool.

The court made this statement while rejecting a bunch of petitions that challenged the state government's decision to establish six years as the minimum age requirement for Class One admission in the 2023-24 academic year.

A group of parents, whose children had not yet turned six by June 1, 2023, aimed to contest the state government's notification from January 31, 2020, which specified the age limit for admission to Class 1 in the 2023-24 academic year.

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The petitioners requested the court to allow children who completed three years in preschool but hadn't yet reached the age of six by June 1, 2023, to be admitted for the current academic year.

They argued that denying admission would violate their right to education.

What did the court say?

The Gujarat High Court said that it's illegal on the part of parents to force their kids to attend preschool below the age of three.

"Forcing children to go to a preschool below the age of three years is an illegal act on the part of the parents who are petitioners before us," the court observed.

The court said that petitioners "cannot seek any leniency as they are guilty of a violation of the mandate of the Right to Education Rules (RTE), 2012 of the Right to Education Act, 2009", while referring to the law that gives all Indian children above the age of six right to study.

The court said: "The right conferred upon a child by the constitutional provision of Article 21A and Section 3 of the RTE Act, 2009 begins after completion of the age of six years."

What does the rule say?

In accordance with the New Education Policy 2020— described as one of the most groundbreaking reforms in the Indian education system by Prime Minister Modi's administration—kids are supposed to beadmitted at three years for nursery, four years for Lower Kindergarten (LKG), and five years for Upper Kindergarten (UKG).

Also watch |India gets new education policy after 34 years | Explainer | MHRD

This implies that children must complete a three-year foundation before entering Class 1 at the age of six.

However, reports have claimed that many preschools in Gujarat and beyondstill adhere to the older criteria, where nursery class admission criteria stoodat 2.5 years.

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