Govt announces new age policy for school admissions in Rawalpindi

The Rawalpindi Education Department has introduced a revised age‑based admission policy for government schools, raising concerns that it may worsen already low enrolment.

The move comes after a one‑month delay in opening admissions, which has already pushed more parents toward private schools. Private schools in the twin cities started taking new students on January 15, but government schools only began on April 1, about two months later. This leads to a shift towards private institutions, where admission procedures began earlier and proceeded with fewer problems.

Under the new criteria, there is a specific minimum age of admission to each of the classes. In the case of early-childhood classes, children have to be at least 3 years old in ECCE, 4 in pre-primary (Prep), and 5 years old in Grade 1. To have higher grades, one again must be within a specific age range: Grade 2 needs 6 years, Grade 3 needs 7, Grade 4 needs 8, Grade 5 needs 9, Grade 6 needs 10, Grade 7 needs 11, Grade 8 needs 12, Grade 9 needs 13, Grade 10 needs 14 years or more.

The department also made it clear that students should be 13 years old during registration of Grade 9 board examinations. It has been recommended to parents to refer to the schedule by age before application to ensure that their children do not experience rejection in the future. The late opening, coupled with the tightening of the rules on age, has brought about confusion and concern to the government schools that even more students will be lost to the private sector in the next academic year.