CBSE cracks down on 'dummy' schools: Affiliation of 21 schools withdrawn, six schools downgraded
New Delhi (PTI): In a crackdown on 'dummy' admissions, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday withdrew affiliation of 21 schools and downgraded six schools from senior secondary to secondary level, officials said.
The move comes following a surprise inspection at the schools in Rajasthan and Delhi in September during which several lapses were found, they said.
"The practice of dummy or non-attending admissions contradicts the core mission of school education, compromising students' foundational growth. To address this issue, we are taking a decisive action to combat the proliferation of dummy schools and send a clear message to all affiliated institutions to resist the lure of accepting dummy or non-attending admissions," CBSE Secretary Himanshu Gupta said.
He said the vital observations of the surprise inspection committees regarding the irregularities observed during the inspections were communicated as a report to the respective schools.
Gupta said the prime objective of the inspections was to ascertain that the schools were operating in compliance with the norms of regular attendance of students in schools according to the affiliation and examination bylaws of the Board. The CBSE emphasised that dummy or non-attending schools undermine educational integrity and issued show cause notices, allowing schools 30 days to respond, he said.
"The replies submitted by the schools were examined in detail by the Board. Based on the inspection findings and supported by videographic evidence, affiliation of 21 schools was withdrawn and six schools were downgraded from senior secondary to secondary level," he added.
Of the 21 schools whose affiliation has been withdrawn, 16 are in Delhi while five of them are in Rajasthan's coaching hubs -- Kota and Sikar.
Scores of students preparing for engineering and medical entrance examinations prefer to take admission in dummy schools so that they can focus solely on their preparations for the competitive exams. They do not attend classes and straightaway appear in the board exams.
Aspirants also choose dummy schools, keeping in mind the quota in medical and engineering institutes available for students from certain states. For example, candidates who have completed classes 11 and 12 in Delhi are considered for admission in engineering and medical colleges of the national capital under the Delhi state quota.
Earlier this year, the CBSE cancelled the affiliation of 20 schools for enrolling dummy students and ineligible candidates.
The disaffiliated schools in Delhi are Khemo Devi Public School and The Vivekanand School in Narela; Sant Gyaneshwar Model School, Alipur; P D Model Secondary School, Sultanpuri Road; Sidhhartha Public School, Kanjhawla; Rahul Public School, Rajiv Nagar Extension; Bharti Vidya Niketan Public School, Chander Vihar; R.D. International School, Baprola; Heera Lal Public School , Madanpur Dabas; B.R. International School, Mungeshpur; KRD International School, Dhansa Road and MR Bharti Model Senior Secondary School, Mundka.
Three schools in Delhi's Nangloi -- USM Public Secondary School, SGN Public School and M D Memorial Public School -- have also lost their affiliation.
The schools whose affiliation has been downgraded are Adarsh Jain Dharmic Shiksha Sadan, BS International School, Bharat Mata Saraswati Bal Mandir, Ch Baldev Singh Model School, Dhruva Public School and Naveen Public School. All of these schools are in Delhi.
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SC wants to know if FIRs filed over suicides of IIT student, NEET aspirant
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought to know if FIRs were registered after suicides of a IIT Kharagpur student and a NEET aspirant in Kota, Rajasthan, came to light.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directed its registry to call for a report from both places at the earliest.
The top court noted a 22-year-old student studying in IIT, Kharagpur, was found hanging in his hostel room on May 4, 2025.
"The deceased was a three-year civil engineering student. His body was found hanging in his room in the Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall. The student was identified as Mohammad Asif Qamar from Bihar’s Sheohar District," the bench noted.
The top court went on, "The press reporting indicates that just moments before his death, he was on a video call with his friend in Delhi. This is one of those unfortunate suicides by a student for which we have constituted the task-force to work on the various issues relating to students suicide."
The top court previously ordered the formation of a national task force, headed by former top court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, to address the mental health concerns of students to prevent suicides in higher educational institutions.
The apex court said it was taking cognisance of the matter with a view to ascertain whether the management or administration of IIT, Kharagpur lodged an FIR with the local police station in accordance with its earlier directions.
It also took into account another case of suicide by a NEET aspirant who hanged herself at her room in Parshavanath area in the city ahead of the National Medical Entrants Examination scheduled on May 11.
"It is reported that the girl was under 18 years of age and hailed from Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh. She had been living with her parents in Kota (Rajasthan) and for the past several years, she was preparing for NEET-UG at a coaching institute," the court added.
The bench observed it was reportedly the fourteenth case of suicide by a coaching student in Kota, Rajasthan in 2025.
"Since January, 2025, a total of 17 cases of suicides by coaching students were reported in Kota last year. We would like to know whether an FIR has been registered in connection with this suicide also or not," the bench said.
The matter then was posted on May 13.
Outlining a disturbing pattern of student suicides in educational institutions, the apex court on March 24 directed Delhi Police to register an FIR and probe the suicidal deaths of two IIT-Delhi students from the SC/ST community.
Saying it was "high time" that it took cognisance of the "serious issue", the court ordered formulation of comprehensive and effective guidelines to address and mitigate the underlying causes contributing to such distress among students.
The bench directed the Centre to deposit Rs 20 lakh with the registry within two weeks as an outlay for the initial operations of the NTF.
Noting a "disturbing pattern" of student suicides were being reported from various educational institutes, the apex court said these tragedies underscored the urgent need for a more robust, comprehensive and responsive mechanism to address various factors which compel students to resort to taking their own lives.
