Out of the patterns given below, which of them has been adopted in place of…

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 replaced India's earlier 10+2 school-education structure with a new curricular and pedagogical framework built around stages of child cognitive development — from early childhood care through senior secondary — rather than the older primary/middle/secondary labels tied to board-exam years.

Applied to India's 15 years of schooling (12 years of formal classes plus 3 years of pre-school), NEP 2020 defines four stages:

1. Foundational Stage — 5 years: 3 years of Anganwadi/pre-school plus Classes 1-2 (ages 3-8).

2. Preparatory Stage — 3 years: Classes 3-5 (ages 8-11).

3. Middle Stage — 3 years: Classes 6-8 (ages 11-14).

4. Secondary Stage — 4 years: Classes 9-12 (ages 14-18).

Written as stage-year counts in order, this sequence is 5+3+3+4, replacing the earlier 10+2 pattern for school education.

Contrasting the other listed patterns against this structure:

• 4+3+3+5 gives the Secondary Stage the largest span and the Foundational Stage the smallest — the reverse of what NEP 2020 specifies.

• 4+5+3+3 shifts the largest span onto the Preparatory Stage instead of the Foundational Stage.

• 3+3+3+5 treats the Foundational, Preparatory, and Middle Stages as equally short (3 years each) and inflates the Secondary Stage instead.

Cross-checking the total confirms it: 5+3+3+4 = 15 years, spanning age 3 (pre-school entry) to age 18 (Class 12) — exactly the age range stated in the NEP 2020 document published by the Ministry of Education (formerly MHRD).