Minimum age for class 1 admission relaxed for 2025-26, says Minister Madhu Bangarappa
Bengaluru, April 17: Karnataka's Primary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa on Wednesday announced that the state government has relaxed the minimum age requirement for admission to Class 1 for the academic year 2025-26, responding to repeated appeals from parents.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, the minister stated that children who have completed 5 years and 5 months of age as of June 1, 2025, will be eligible for admission into Class 1 for this year. However, from the academic year 2026-27 onwards, the age criterion will return to the earlier requirement — that a child must have completed 6 years of age to enter Class 1.
Madhu Bangarappa clarified that despite the relaxation in age, children must have completed Upper Kindergarten (UKG) before being admitted to Class 1. “We are allowing this concession only for the current academic year, based on the recommendations of the State Education Policy Commission and after considering the requests from parents,” he said.
The minister reiterated that the relaxation is temporary and aimed at ensuring a smooth transition without disrupting the academic plans of parents and schools. He added that the decision aligns with the recommendations of the State Education Policy Commission, which has studied the matter and supported a phased implementation of the revised age criteria.
Parents across the state had earlier expressed concerns over the sudden enforcement of the 6-year age requirement, which they said would affect thousands of children already enrolled in pre-primary levels.
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
