The Central Information Commission (CIC) has recommended that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conduct surprise inspections of its affiliated schools to detect dummy admissions and check compliance with attendance rules, Careers360 and The Hitavada reported on 16 October.

The recommendation was made by Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi under Section 25(5) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. That provision allows the commission to recommend steps a public authority should take when its practices do not conform to the Act.

Background to the complaint

According to the reports, an RTI applicant sought information on attendance requirements at private schools in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and on CBSE's rules for subject selection and prescribed textbooks. The applicant said the aim was to expose dummy admissions, where students are enrolled on paper and receive board results without attending classes.

CBSE's Central Public Information Officer initially returned the application, citing an error in the postal order used to pay the fee. The commission held that refusing information on such grounds was not in keeping with the Act, stating that denial on a technicality "is not in the spirit of the RTI Act". The officer apologised during the hearing, and CBSE later gave a point-wise reply.

In its reply, CBSE cited its Affiliation Bye-Laws, 2018, which bar affiliated schools from sending students to board examinations if they have not attended classes regularly or do not meet minimum attendance criteria, Careers360 reported.

Why dummy admissions matter

A board certificate is usually taken as evidence that a student completed the full course of schooling. Where students are enrolled only on paper, often while attending coaching centres elsewhere, the certificate no longer reflects what it appears to certify, and schools risk breaching the conditions of their affiliation.

What parents and students can check

Parents can confirm a school's affiliation status and number on CBSE's official affiliation portal, ask for the school's attendance policy in writing, and be wary of any offer of board registration without regular attendance. Concerns about a specific school can be raised with CBSE's regional office.

Sources

This News Desk report summarises information published by the sources above, written in our own words. Persons named in criminal matters are accused, not convicted, unless a court has ruled otherwise. To report an error, use our contact page.

CICCBSEDummy schoolsRTI ActAttendance rules

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