odisha news: Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), Feb 18: The Odisha government will commence admissions for ‘Sishu Vatikas’ in primary schools across the state from the next academic session.
Announcing this on Tuesday, School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond stated that children aged three years will be admitted under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The new system will be implemented in around 45,000 primary schools, with the department fully prepared for its execution.
Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, in his budget speech on Monday, confirmed that NEP-2020 will be rolled out in Odisha from the 2025-26 academic session. The framework includes five years of foundational education, covering Sishu Vatika 1, 2, and 3, followed by Classes 1 and 2. The preparatory stage will include Classes 4 and 5, while the middle stage will encompass Classes 6 to 8. The minimum age for admission into Class 1 will be six years, and for Sishu Vatika, it will be three years.
The state government has allocated over ₹31,000 crore for school education in the 2025-26 budget. Additionally, ₹2,960 crore has been earmarked for the Godabarisha Mishra Adarsha Prathamik Vidyalaya initiative. Under this scheme, around 7,000 elementary schools will be upgraded with advanced infrastructure, learning resources, and skill-based education to enhance students’ linguistic and arithmetic abilities, preparing them for higher education.
