In the new National Education Policy Draft, the period of Foundational Stage in school education was for:

Explanation:
As per the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Foundational Stage spans 5 years.
It includes:

2 years of primary schooling (Grades 1 and 2)
This stage caters to children aged 3 to 8 years, focusing on play-based, activity-based, and language-rich learning environments, laying a strong foundation in early literacy and numeracy.

(a) 2 years – Covers only Grades 1 and 2, missing the essential pre-school years.

(b) 3 years – Shortens the foundational span, excluding part of pre-school or early grades.

(c) 4 years – Still incomplete as it does not account for the full early childhood and early primary stages defined in NEP.

Information Booster:
The Foundational Stage is the first component of the 5+3+3+4 structure introduced in NEP 2020:

5 years: Foundational Stage (pre-school to Grade 2)

3 years: Preparatory Stage (Grades 3–5)

3 years: Middle Stage (Grades 6–8)

4 years: Secondary Stage (Grades 9–12)

This design ensures that the early years of a child’s education receive appropriate curricular and pedagogical attention.