Playgroup, Nursery, LKG and UKG, explained
LKG and UKG are Lower and Upper Kindergarten, the two years before Class 1; some schools call them Junior KG and Senior KG. National policy counts three preschool years, 3 to 6.
The names, side by side
The same years go by several names. National guidance numbers the preschool years; schools mostly use the older names, and some use Junior and Senior KG for LKG and UKG.
| In national guidance | Ages there | The name schools often use |
|---|---|---|
| Preschool 1, or Balvatika 1 | 3 to 4 | Nursery |
| Preschool 2, or Balvatika 2 | 4 to 5 | LKG, or Junior KG |
| Preschool 3, or Balvatika 3 | 5 to 6 | UKG, or Senior KG |
| Class 1 | 6 to 7 | Class 1 |
What the national policy says
NEP 2020 arranges school as 5+3+3+4. The first five years are one Foundational Stage, for ages 3 to 8: three preschool years and Classes 1 and 2 together.1
“five years of flexible, multilevel, play/activity-based learning”
The Preparatory Stage follows, Classes 3 to 5, for ages 8 to 11. It builds on the same play and discovery, and begins to bring in “some light text books”.1
Balvatika, two ways
You will see the word used in two ways. NCERT's framework for the Foundational Stage calls Balvatika the one year before Class 1, at about 5 to 6.23
Kendriya Vidyalayas, and Uttar Pradesh's government schools since 2025, use it for all three preschool years: Balvatika 1, 2 and 3. Launching them, the state's minister described Balvatika as giving government schools early education “like nursery, LKG and UKG”.46
Ask the schoolAsk a school which of its classes it counts as its Balvatika year, if it uses the word.
The age for Class 1
In 2023 the Ministry of Education asked all states and union territories to make six the minimum age for admission to Class 1.7
In April 2024, Uttar Pradesh was reported to have told its state public schools that a child must be six by 1 April to join Class 1, and that younger children join kindergarten. The report covers the state's public schools; a private school will say which rule and which date it follows.8
Ask the schoolAsk the school its age and cut-off date for each class, for the year your child would join.
Ask the school
Only the school can tell you these. They are good questions for a visit or a call.
- The age, and the date it is counted on, for each class from Playgroup to Class 1.
- Which class is its Balvatika year, if it uses the word, and what Playgroup covers.
- How children move up from one class to the next.
Sources
- Ministry of Education, Government of India, National Education Policy 2020 (2020).
- NCERT, National Curriculum Framework for the Foundational Stage (2022).
- NCERT, Vidya Pravesh: guidelines for a three-month play-based school preparation module (2021).
- Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (Kendriya Vidyalaya Bondamunda), Balvatika.
- Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Balavatika (2026).
- Amar Ujala, Bal vatikas started in more than 70 thousand schools in the state (Hindi) (2025). A news report of the direction, not the order itself.
- The Tribune, Govt asks all states, UTs to make 6 years minimum age for Class 1 admission (2023). A news report of the direction, not the order itself.
- IANS, in Madhyamam, In UP, now 6 years is minimum age for admission to Class 1 (2024). A news report of the direction, not the order itself.
Sources read and checked in October 2026. This guide gives general advice from public bodies, not medical advice, and it says nothing about this school that the school hasn't confirmed.
Come and see the school
Call or WhatsApp to arrange a visit, or send an enquiry and the school will get back to you.