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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response from the Delhi government on the six-year age criteria for admission to Class 1 from the upcoming academic session in the national capital.
A PIL has been filed challenging the circular issued by the Delhi government in June 2025. The admission process is scheduled to start in December.
The division bench headed by Chief Justice DK Upadhyay has issued a notice to the Delhi government and sought its reply.
The lawyer appearing for Delhi government sought time to file the reply. Following this, the High Court listed the case for hearing on November 26.
Advocate Vaibhav Sharma appeared on behalf of petitioner Deepika Sharma.
It was said that the Delhi government issued a circular on June 20, 2025, introducing a new class for pre-school and fixing the age criteria of six years for admission to class one from the academic year 2026-2027.
It was argued that the Delhi Government has in fact introduced a new policy/circular whereby the child will have to go through Preschool One, Preschool Two and Preschool Three before admission to Class One. Earlier, it was Nursery and KG, but now, after the said circular, it will be a new class from the academic year 2026-2027.
It is further said that the public at large will be affected in two ways. Firstly, an additional burden of one year’s fees for preschool will be imposed, as it becomes mandatory to undergo preschool before entering Class 1. Moreover, direct admission in class 1 is very difficult due to limited seats.
The general public will be affected by the implementation of this policy/circular in two ways. Number one, students already enrolled and promoted to Class 1 will have to go through pre-school again, and nursery students promoted to KG will have to go through nursery again, the petition said.
It further said that if such a circular is being introduced, it should be effective from the academic year 2026-2027, for new admissions and not for children already enrolled in the school in the academic year 2025.
By issuing such a circular it seems as if the classes will remain vacant, as children already studying in KG will have to be promoted to Class 1; However, the maximum number of children will be below six years and they will remain in preschool for one more year, the petition said.
The petitioner has also suggested that the circular be amended to change the age of entry into class nursery from three years and above to four years and above, and then the same to Pre-school 1 for four years and above, Preschool 2 for five years and above, and Class 1 for six years and above.
The plea said that for effective implementation of the circular, the age of entry may be set at four years from the academic year 2026-2027; Otherwise, it will impact parents financially, and current students already in preschool will have to go through preschool again.
It is also highlighted that till the present date the fees for one quarter of any private school is around Rs 60,000, making it around Rs 2.40 lakh for a year, which is an unnecessary burden on the general public.
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