Short answer: NEP 2020 brings ages 3 to 8 into one "foundational stage": three years of preschool, then Classes 1 and 2. It asks for play-based learning, no exams, teaching in the home language where possible, and Class 1 at age 6+. A preschool that gives three-year-olds tests and written homework is out of step with national policy.
The National Education Policy 2020 changed how India thinks about the years before Class 1. If your child is under six, it shapes the schools you are choosing between, the class your child joins and what a good classroom should look like. Here is the parent's version, with the paragraph to check for each point.
The 5+3+3+4 structure
NEP replaced the old 10+2 with 5+3+3+4 (para 4.1), and the first "5" is your child:
- Foundational stage (ages 3 to 8): three years of anganwadi or preschool, then Classes 1 and 2.
- Preparatory (8 to 11): Classes 3 to 5.
- Middle (11 to 14): Classes 6 to 8.
- Secondary (14 to 18): Classes 9 to 12.
Under the old structure, children aged 3 to 6 were not covered at all, because Class 1 began at 6 and the 10+2 started there. The point of the change is that ages 3 to 8 are treated as one continuous learning stage with one philosophy, rather than "playschool" followed by an abrupt jump into desks and dictation.
Class 1 at 6+, and what it means for preschool ages
Because the foundational stage counts three years of preschool before Class 1, the Ministry of Education directed every state and union territory in February 2023 to admit children to Class 1 at 6+ years. States are moving at different speeds. Delhi, for example, has restructured its entry classes into Nursery (Balvatika 1) at 3+, Lower KG (Balvatika 2) at 4+ and Upper KG (Balvatika 3) at 5+, with Class 1 at 6+ from the 2028-29 session.
For most families this means nursery at 3+, LKG at 4+ and UKG at 5+ on the school's cut-off date. The school admission age calculator shows which class your child fits, and our admission guide has the state cut-off dates for this season.
What is Balvatika?
NEP says that before the age of 5, every child should move to a "Preparatory Class" or "Balavatika", the year before Class 1, taught by an ECCE-qualified teacher and based "primarily on play-based learning" (para 1.6). States now use the name, usually spelt Balvatika, for preschool years attached to schools. It signals a bigger shift: schools are expected to treat the preschool years as real education, not a fee-collecting waiting room.
What NEP and the NCF say a preschool should look like
The policy and its companion framework, the NCF for the Foundational Stage (2022), are specific:
- Play-based, activity-based, inquiry-based learning (NEP para 1.2), with free, guided and structured play all planned into the day.
- No tests. The NCF calls explicit tests and examinations "completely inappropriate" at this stage and asks teachers to assess by observing children during normal activity.
- No page-after-page homework. Home tasks, if any, should be small and fun, like asking grandparents their names, and children should be able to do them without a parent's help.
- Foundational literacy and numeracy by Class 3 (NEP para 2.2), built through stories, songs, games and conversation.
- Home language first. NEP says the medium of instruction should be the home language or mother tongue "wherever possible", until at least Class 5 and preferably Class 8 (para 4.11). The NCF expects children to speak in at least two languages by the end of the stage.
- All-round development: physical and motor, cognitive, socio-emotional and ethical, cultural and artistic, and communication and early language, literacy and numeracy (NEP para 1.2).
- Safety: no physical punishment, children visible to an adult at all times, and zero tolerance of child sexual abuse under the POCSO Act (NCF section 8.2).
For the research behind the play-based approach, see why play-based learning works.
What this means when you choose a preschool
Use the framework as a filter. Ask any school you visit:
- "How does your programme align with the NCF for the Foundational Stage?" Schools that have engaged with it will name specifics: learning domains, observation-based assessment, play-based literacy and numeracy. Schools that haven't will change the subject.
- "Is there written homework or a test before Class 1?" By the national framework, the answer should be no.
- "How do you assess and report progress?" Look for portfolios, observation notes and parent conversations, not marks.
- "What language is the classroom run in?" There is no single right answer, but a school should have a considered one.
Take the 13-point visit checklist and our 15 questions for a preschool tour for the practical checks.
The honest caveat
NEP is a policy direction and the NCF is a framework, not an inspection regime. How strictly private preschools are regulated depends on your state, and plenty still run rote-heavy programmes with NEP posters in the lobby. The framework's real value to you is a shared vocabulary: play-based learning, observation-led assessment, home language, safety. Schools doing the real thing welcome these questions. Schools doing the fake thing dread them.
Revised October 2026: each claim now points to its paragraph in NEP 2020 or section of the NCF for the Foundational Stage, the homework point corrected to what the NCF actually says, and the Class 1 age rule and Delhi's new entry classes added for the 2026-27 admission season.