Dummy Admission, Attendance Violation in CBSE Schools? CIC Recommends Surprise Inspections

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has recommended that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conduct surprise inspections of its affiliated schools to identify alleged dummy admissions and verify whether institutions are complying with mandatory attendance rules. The recommendation was made by Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi in an order issued in response to a complaint alleging that some students were obtaining certificates and examination results without regularly attending classes. Invoking Section 25(5) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the commission stressed the need for appropriate monitoring mechanisms to ensure that affiliated schools follow the board's regulations and do not violate their conditions of affiliation.

The matter originated from an RTI application seeking information about attendance requirements in private missionary schools in Bhopal. The applicant had also requested details about CBSE regulations concerning the selection of subjects and the textbooks prescribed for students. According to the complainant, the application was intended to bring instances of dummy admissions to light. Such practices allegedly allow students to remain enrolled in schools on paper and obtain examination results without attending regular classes, raising concerns about compliance with the board's academic requirements.

The applicant initially faced difficulties when the CBSE's Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) returned the RTI application, citing an error in the Indian Postal Order submitted towards the application fee. The applicant was instructed to provide a valid payment instrument made payable to the CBSE secretary in Bhopal. During the subsequent proceedings, the CIC observed that refusing to process an information request over a technical deficiency was inconsistent with the underlying objectives of the RTI Act. The commission emphasised that public information officers should facilitate access to information and provide responses addressing the individual points raised in an application, rather than allowing procedural issues to become an obstacle.

The commission recorded its observation that denying information on technical grounds was not in keeping with the spirit of the RTI Act, 2005. During the hearing, the CPIO apologised for the earlier handling of the application and agreed to furnish the requested details. The CBSE subsequently submitted a point-wise response to the commission, which was accepted and taken on record. The proceedings then brought the board's existing affiliation regulations on attendance and eligibility for board examinations into focus.

In its response, the CBSE referred to the Affiliation Bye-Laws, 2018, which specify attendance-related conditions that affiliated schools must satisfy when putting forward students for board examinations. Under these provisions, schools are prohibited from presenting candidates for the board examinations if they have not attended classes regularly or have failed to meet the prescribed minimum attendance requirement.

Considering the seriousness of the allegations raised by the applicant, the CIC recommended that the CBSE exercise its inspection powers and conduct surprise visits to affiliated schools. The commission said such inspections could help establish checks and balances and enable the board to examine whether schools were adhering to their affiliation conditions. The recommendation places the focus on monitoring attendance practices and addressing alleged irregularities involving students who are enrolled in institutions but do not attend classes as required. However, the order recommends surprise inspections as a compliance measure; it does not establish that the allegations against any particular school have been proven.