Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Jan 14: The Goa government has introduced a Bill in the state legislative assembly to increase the minimum age for admission to Class 1 from five-and-a-half years to six years, aligning the state’s education law with national norms.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday tabled the Goa School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2026, during the ongoing winter session of the Assembly. The proposed legislation seeks to amend Section 18 of the Goa School Education Act, 1984.

Under the amendment, a child who has not completed six years of age on or before June 1 of the academic year will not be eligible for admission to Class 1 or its equivalent in any recognised school. At present, the law permits admission for children aged five years and six months.

To avoid disruption for students already in the schooling pipeline, the Bill provides a one-time relaxation for the academic year 2025-26. Children who attain the age of five-and-a-half years on or before June 1, 2025, will be allowed to take admission to Class 1.

The proposed amendment also tightens age eligibility norms for first-time admissions to classes above Class 1. It specifies that a student will not be admitted if, after deducting the number of years of normal schooling between that class and Class 1, the child’s age works out to be less than six years.

According to the government, the move is aimed at ensuring uniformity with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, both of which prescribe six years as the minimum age for entry into formal schooling.

The Bill clarifies that admissions to recognised schools will continue to be regulated through rules framed by the government and that the amendment will not have any financial implications for the state.

Chief Minister Sawant, who also holds the education portfolio, said the changes are regulatory in nature and necessary to bring Goa’s education framework in line with national standards.