CBSE issues show cause notices to 29 schools over excess enrollment and absenteeism

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has sent show cause notices to 29 schools for enrolling excess students and excusing them from classes.

The move comes as concerns rise over the spread of the "Kota coaching model" to other cities, which prioritizes coaching over regular schooling.

The CBSE carried out surprise inspections at 29 schools last month, including one in Bengaluru, three in Varanasi, two each in Ahmedabad, Bilaspur, and Patna, and 19 in Delhi.

They discovered that the schools had broken the board affiliation rules—which state that they are not allowed to admit more students than their authorized capacity—during the inspections.

The schools enabled the students to be absent in order to prepare for national-level entrance exams at private coaching facilities, even though they had enrolled several times as many students in Classes XI and XII as were permitted.

In order to educate so many children, these institutions lacked the necessary infrastructure and academic staff.

“The CBSE has taken serious note of these violations and has issued showcause notices to all 29 schools involved. Each school has been provided with a copy of the respective inspection report and has been directed to submit their replies within 30 days,” said a media release issued by the board.

The CBSE de-affiliated 21 of these schools and showcaused 27 in September 2024. The students were moved to different schools.

A private school's principal, who was a member of an inspection team, claimed that on a typical workday, she did not see any students on the school grounds, even though it appeared that about 500 students were registered.

“The Kota model is being replicated. Private coaching centers in Kota have tie-ups with local schools where children are admitted to appear for the board exams. The dummy school concept started in Kota and has spread to many cities. There is a strong nexus between the dummy schools and the private coaching institutions,” she said.

The CBSE should exercise greater caution, she continued, and not permit any school to register more students than the authorized number.

According to ITL Public School principal Sudha Acharya, parents have more aspirations than their kids.

“When the CBSE cancels the affiliation of a school, the children and parents also suffer. Parents should be more careful and not withdraw their children from regular schools,” she said.