# What is the 5+3+3+4 structure?

> NEP 2020’s 5+3+3+4 design groups classes into four stages for ages 3 to 18. The stage table, what changes for the school office, and what does not.

_Source: https://scoolin.com/glossary/5-3-3-4-structure_

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[Home](https://scoolin.com/) [Glossary](https://scoolin.com/glossary) 5+3+3+4 structure

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The school stages NEP 2020 sets out: foundational, preparatory, middle and secondary, for ages 3 to 18.

## What 5+3+3+4 means

The 5+3+3+4 structure is the way the National Education Policy 2020 groups school years into four stages, by the age of the child. It replaces the old 10+2 split as the basis for curriculum and teaching, and it covers ages 3 to 18.[1] The numbers are the years in each stage.

The four stages in NEP 2020, paragraph 4.1

| Stage | Years | Classes | Ages |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Foundational | 5 | 3 years of Anganwadi or pre-school, then classes 1 and 2 | 3 to 8 |
| Preparatory | 3 | Classes 3 to 5 | 8 to 11 |
| Middle | 3 | Classes 6 to 8 | 11 to 14 |
| Secondary | 4 | Classes 9 to 12, in two phases: 9 and 10, then 11 and 12 | 14 to 18 |

The main addition is the early years. NEP notes that under 10+2, children aged 3 to 6 were not covered because class 1 begins at age 6; the new structure brings early childhood care and education from age 3 into the school system.[1]

## Where the school office meets it

- **Pre-primary classes.** NEP says that before age 5, every child will move to a “Preparatory Class” or “Balavatika” before class 1, with an ECCE-qualified teacher.[1] The UDISE+ data form for 2025-26 asks whether a Balavatika has been started in the school or a co-located Anganwadi.[2]
- **UDISE+ reports.** From 2022-23, UDISE+ groups schools, teachers and students by these four stages instead of the 10+2 levels.[3]
- **The progress card.** NEP asks states to redesign the report card as a “holistic, 360-degree, multidimensional” progress card.[1]
- **Parents’ questions about age.** The stage ages are often read as admission rules. They are not; see below.

## What the school has to do

For the office, the structure changes how classes are grouped and taught, not how they are numbered. NEP says the stages are “purely curricular and pedagogical”, and that “parallel changes to physical infrastructure will not be required”.[1] Classes stay 1 to 12.

1. Follow your state’s rules for admission age. For CBSE schools, the bye-laws leave age limits to the state government, and say admissions up to class 8 follow the state’s rules.[4]
2. Report pre-primary classes and any Balavatika correctly in UDISE+.[2]
3. Keep class numbers, not stage names, on registers and certificates. A TC records the class the student last studied in.

## Common mistakes

- **Thinking it renames the classes.** It doesn’t. The stages group existing classes.[1]
- **Reading the first 5 as five years of primary school.** Three of the five years are before class 1.[1]
- **Treating the age bands as an admission rule.** Admission age is set by the state.[4]
- **Thinking the RTE Act changed with it.** The Act still defines a child as aged six to fourteen, and elementary education as classes 1 to 8.[5]
- **Calling only classes 9 and 10 “secondary”.** In NEP’s design, the secondary stage covers classes 9 to 12.[1]

## Related terms

- [RTE 25% quota](https://scoolin.com/glossary/rte-quota): the RTE Act’s seats in the entry class, which may be pre-primary.
- [Co-scholastic areas](https://scoolin.com/glossary/co-scholastic-areas): the report-card grades NEP’s holistic progress card builds on.
- [UDISE+](https://scoolin.com/glossary/udise-plus): where schools report by stage.
- [Scholar register](https://scoolin.com/glossary/scholar-register): where the class and date of admission are recorded.

## Sources

1. Ministry of Human Resource Development, [National Education Policy 2020](https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf), introduction to Part I and paragraphs 1.6, 4.1, 4.3 and 4.35. Back to the text
2. Department of School Education and Literacy, [UDISE+ Data Capture Format for 2025-26](https://edudel.nic.in/upload/upload_2025_26/437_46_dt_13052025/AnnexureA.pdf), item 1.41, as circulated by the Directorate of Education, Delhi. Back to the text
3. Ministry of Education, [UDISE+ 2022-23 booklet](https://dashboard.udiseplus.gov.in/report-new-v.6-demo2025/static/media/UDISE+2022_23_Booklet_nep.897ad1d762ba546d666b.pdf), paragraph 1.9. Back to the text
4. CBSE, [Examination Bye-Laws](https://www.cbse.gov.in/cbsenew/bylawspdf/CBSE-Examination%20by%20Law%20Book_2013.pdf) (2013 edition), bye-laws 6.1(a)(iii) and 7.1(i). Back to the text
5. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, [Gazette of India text](https://ncpcr.gov.in/public/uploads/165648731362bbfd919b782_right-of-children-to-free-and-compulsory-education-act-2009.pdf) (copy on the NCPCR website), sections 2(c) and 2(f). Back to the text

More school terms

[UDISE+](https://scoolin.com/glossary/udise-plus) [UDISE code](https://scoolin.com/glossary/udise-code) [APAAR ID](https://scoolin.com/glossary/apaar-id) [Bonafide certificate](https://scoolin.com/glossary/bonafide-certificate) [School leaving certificate](https://scoolin.com/glossary/school-leaving-certificate) [Migration certificate](https://scoolin.com/glossary/migration-certificate) [Scholar register](https://scoolin.com/glossary/scholar-register) [Admission number](https://scoolin.com/glossary/admission-number) [CBSE affiliation number](https://scoolin.com/glossary/cbse-affiliation-number) [RTE 25% quota](https://scoolin.com/glossary/rte-quota) [Co-scholastic areas](https://scoolin.com/glossary/co-scholastic-areas)