Bhubaneswar, March 2 -- As the new academic year approaches, what should have been a time of excitement has instead become a period of anxiety for many families across Karnataka. Parents say they are watching their children, eager, confident, and academically ready, face the prospect of repeating a class simply because they fall short of the six-year age requirement by a few days or months.

Parents of children who have completed three years of pre-primary education are urging the Karnataka government to grant a 90-day relaxation in the minimum age criterion for admission to Class 1. Under the National Education Policy (NEP), a child must be six years old by the prescribed date to qualify. However, many narrowly miss the cut-off, despite ...