NEP 2020 states that ‘prior to the age of 5 every child will move to a “Preparatory Class” or “Balvatika”. The Balvatika programme is a programme before Grade 1 which is meant to prepare children with cognitive and linguistic Competencies that are prerequisites for learning to read, write and develop number sense through a play-based approach. NCERT has developed guidelines and processes for three years of preschool including the Balvatika.