Grade 1 Classes Start on 20 January 2027: What the Ministry Circular Requires of Schools
A Ministry of Education circular dated 12 October 2026 fixes Wednesday, 20 January 2027 as the day classes formally begin for children admitted to Grade 1 in 2027. It also sets out how schools should welcome the new students that day, and requires a programme for getting to know the children to run from 5 to 19 January 2027. If you are a parent of a child starting Grade 1, or a principal or teacher planning for it, this is what the circular says and what to prepare.
Key Facts
Who Receives the Circular
The circular is addressed to provincial chief secretaries and provincial directors of education, zonal directors of education, the directors and assistant directors of education responsible for each division, and the principals of government schools and of government-assisted and non-assisted private schools where Grade 1 classes will begin.
The Start Date: 20 January 2027
- Classes formally begin on Wednesday, 20 January 2027 for the students admitted to Grade 1 in 2027.
- Students selected for Grade 1 must be admitted to the school before that day. The circular asks schools to take the necessary action.
The Welcoming Ceremony on 20 January
The circular says a welcoming ceremony should be held on 20 January 2027, and it should include:
- Students in Grade 2 in 2027 welcoming the new students.
- Welcoming parents and invited guests, hoisting the national and school flags, and singing the national anthem and the school song.
- Explaining to the parents of students entering Grade 1 the reforms in primary education and the aims of implementing the new Grade 1 curriculum.
- Holding the welcome as an artistic event with the participation of primary section students.
The circular adds that the event should give priority to the new students, that schools must organise it so that students and parents face no inconvenience, and that the support and participation of all school divisions, the school development society and the old students' association should be obtained.
The Programme Before the First Day: 5 to 19 January 2027
- A programme to get to know the children, prepared under the new education reforms for students admitted to Grade 1, is to be carried out from 5 January to 19 January 2027, excluding public holidays. The circular describes it as a joyful start to primary school.
- Schools must run it according to the guidelines provided by the National Institute of Education.
- After the programme, teachers engaged in Grade 1 teaching are to be given instructions so they can carry out the related activities effectively with the students admitted to the school.
The guidelines themselves are not part of the circular, so the exact activities and timetable are not specified here.
Parents' and Schools' Guide
From the circular
- Formal start of Grade 1 classes for 2027 admissions: 20 January 2027 (Wednesday).
- A welcoming ceremony on that day, with a parents' briefing on primary education reforms and the new Grade 1 curriculum.
- A programme for getting to know the children from 5 to 19 January 2027 under National Institute of Education guidelines.
- Applies to government schools and government-assisted and non-assisted private schools.
Editor's guidance (general advice, not part of the notice)
The points below are general guidance by GovInfo.lk, not part of the official notice.
- Parents: confirm your child's place early. The circular expects students to be admitted before 20 January, so check with the school that your child's admission is completed.
- Ask about the 5 to 19 January programme. The circular does not give daily times or what parents must do. Ask the school whether your child is expected on particular days.
- Keep 20 January free. The welcoming ceremony includes a briefing for parents, so plan to attend.
- Expect to hear about a new curriculum. The circular says parents will be told about the Grade 1 reforms, so questions about it are best raised that day or with the class teacher.
- Principals and teachers: plan the ceremony early, involve Grade 2 students, the school development society and the old students' association, and obtain the National Institute of Education guidelines before 5 January.
- Check the original circular. This post is a summary. If your school or zonal office gives different instructions, follow the education office's notice.
🇱🇰 සිංහල සාරාංශය
- අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ 2026.10.12 දිනැති චක්‍රලේඛයට (Ed/16/01/05/01) අනුව 2027 වසරේ 1 ශ්‍රේණියට ඇතුළත් කරන සිසුන් සඳහා නිල පන්ති 2027 ජනවාරි 20 (බදාදා) ආරම්භ වේ.
- එදිනට පෙර 1 ශ්‍රේණියට තෝරාගත් සිසුන් පාසලට ඇතුළත් කළ යුතුය.
- එදින පිළිගැනීමේ උත්සවයක් පැවැත්විය යුතුය: 2 ශ්‍රේණියේ සිසුන් විසින් පිළිගැනීම, දෙමව්පියන් සහ ආරාධිතයන් පිළිගැනීම, ජාතික හා පාසල් කොඩි ඔසවීම, ජාතික ගීය සහ පාසල් ගීය.
- ප්‍රාථමික අධ්‍යාපන ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ සහ 1 ශ්‍රේණියේ නව විෂය නිර්දේශය ගැන දෙමව්පියන්ට පැහැදිලි කළ යුතුය.
- දරුවන් හඳුනා ගැනීමේ වැඩසටහන (Getting to know the children) 2027 ජනවාරි 5 සිට 19 දක්වා (රජයේ නිවාඩු දින හැර) ජාතික අධ්‍යාපන ආයතනයේ මග පෙන්වීම් අනුව ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ යුතුය.
🇱🇰 தமிழ் சுருக்கம்
- கல்வி அமைச்சின் 2026.10.12 திகதிய சுற்றறிக்கையின் (Ed/16/01/05/01) படி 2027 இல் தரம் ஒன்றிற்கு அனுமதிக்கப்படும் மாணவர்களுக்கான வகுப்புகள் 2027 ஜனவரி 20 (புதன்கிழமை) முறையாக ஆரம்பமாகும்.
- அன்றைய தினத்திற்கு முன்னர் தரம் ஒன்றிற்குத் தெரிவு செய்யப்பட்ட மாணவர்களைப் பாடசாலையில் அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும்.
- அன்று வரவேற்பு நிகழ்ச்சி நடத்தப்பட வேண்டும்: இரண்டாம் வகுப்பு மாணவர்களால் வரவேற்றல், பெற்றோர் மற்றும் அழைக்கப்பட்ட விருந்தினர்களை வரவேற்றல், தேசிய மற்றும் பாடசாலைக் கொடிகளை ஏற்றுதல், தேசிய கீதம் மற்றும் பாடசாலைக் கீதம்.
- ஆரம்பக் கல்வி மறுசீரமைப்புகள் மற்றும் தரம் ஒன்றிற்கான புதிய கலைத்திட்டம் குறித்துப் பெற்றோருக்குத் தெளிவுபடுத்த வேண்டும்.
- "பிள்ளைகளைக் கண்டறியும்" நிகழ்ச்சி 2027 ஜனவரி 05 முதல் 19 வரை (அரசாங்க விடுமுறை தினங்கள் தவிர) தேசிய கல்வி நிறுவகத்தின் வழிகாட்டல்களின்படி நடைமுறைப்படுத்தப்பட வேண்டும்.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Source and Updates
Source: Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, circular Ed/16/01/05/01 dated 12 October 2026, "Starting classes formally for students admitted to Grade 1 in 2027" (Tamil version), signed by the Secretary. [EDITOR: add a link to the circular if it is on moe.gov.lk]
Prepared by: GovInfo.lk Editorial Team
Last reviewed: 23.10.2026
Found an error or a change in the original circular? Contact us through the Contact page and we will review and correct this post.
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