CBSE to conduct surprise inspections after CIC flags dummy admission, attendance concerns

The Central Information Commission has recommended surprise inspections of Central Board of Secondary Education-affiliated schools. It will be to check if there are any dummy admissions and ensure compliance with mandatory attendance requirements. In its latest order, Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi recommended that the board must conduct surprise inspections of its affiliated schools to prevent violations of affiliation conditions. This order comes after CIC received a complaint alleging that students were being issued dummy certificates even without attending classes.

Invoking Section 25(5) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, CIC said it deemed it fit to recommend surprise inspections for ensuring checks and balances on affiliated schools. "The Commission, considering the gravity of the issue flagged by the complainant seeking information regarding the issuance of dummy certificates by schools to students not attending classes, deems it fit to recommend the CBSE under Section 25 (5) of the RTI Act, 2005, to exercise the power of conducting a surprise inspection," the order reads.

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Attendance requirement in private schools

The RTI applicant wanted accurate information on the attendance mandate in private missionary schools in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The applicant also sought CBSE 's rules on subject selection and prescribed textbooks. The complainant informed CIC that he filed RTI to expose dummy admissions and alleged that students are being provided with examination results without attending classes.

CBSE's central public information officer (CPIO) had initially returned the application, citing an error in the Indian Postal Order submitted as the application fee. PTI reports that the applicant was asked to submit a valid payment instrument payable to CBSE secretary in Bhopal. While hearing the matter, CIC observed that rejecting an application on technical grounds was not in keeping with the spirit of the RTI Act. "Denial of information on technicality is not in the spirit of the RTI Act, 2005," it noted. CIC further said that CPIO had to facilitate a point-wise reply, after which CPIO apologised and agreed to share the information.

A point-wise response shared by CBSE was then taken on record in which the board referred to its Affiliation Bye-Laws, 2018, which prohibit affiliated schools from presenting candidates for board examinations if they have not attended classes regularly or do not meet minimum attendance criteria. "No affiliated school shall present the candidates to the Board's examination who are on its roll but have not attended the school appearance regularly or do not meet the requirement of minimum attendance for the Board's examination," CBSE said. With CIC's order, the board is expected to conduct surprise inspections in schools across India and abroad.

(With PTI inputs)