Age rule triggers admission crisis: 2.3 lakh Karnataka children denied Class 1 entry

Parents and students protest at Press Club, demand 90-day age relaxation as strict June 1 cutoff blocks Class 1 admissions for thousands.

Thousands of parents and children staged a protest at the Press Club in Bengaluru after strict age eligibility rules introduced by the Education Department blocked Class 1 admissions for nearly 2.3 lakh students across Karnataka.

As per the existing rule, a child must have completed six years of age by June 1 to be eligible for Class 1 admission. However, this has left children born on June 2 and later ineligible, even after completing UKG. Parents said the rigid cutoff date has pushed students into an unfair situation, forcing many to repeat UKG for a second year.

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Holding placards and raising slogans, protesting parents urged the government to provide a 90-day relaxation in the age limit. They argued that the policy has negatively impacted children academically and mentally, as repeating UKG hampers cognitive growth and learning momentum.

According to parents, nearly 2.3 lakh children born in June and July are directly affected by the rule. Many families have already spent lakhs of rupees on school fees, uniforms, books, and transport, making it financially exhausting to repeat a full academic year.

Parents said that despite their children successfully completing UKG, they are being denied entry into Class 1 solely due to the age condition. They highlighted extreme cases where even children born on June 2 were refused admission, triggering outrage.

Protesters claimed that the confusion created by the government’s policy has led to severe emotional stress for students, who now feel discouraged and demotivated. Several parents alleged that the rule is academically regressive and undermines children’s natural learning progress.

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The aggrieved families stated that they had already submitted representations to Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, requesting immediate intervention. Despite repeated appeals, no clear response has been received, forcing them to intensify the protest.

Parents warned that unless the government revises the policy, thousands of students would lose an entire academic year. They demanded that authorities urgently announce a 90-day age relaxation to allow children who completed UKG to smoothly transition into Class 1.