CBSE Warns: Class 12 Students Enrolled in Dummy Schools at Risk of Losing Board Exam Eligibility
New Delhi: Class 12 students enrolled in “dummy schools” may not be allowed to appear for the upcoming board exams, officials from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have indicated. The board emphasized that both students and parents are responsible for ensuring regular school attendance.
In December last year, CBSE conducted surprise inspections at 29 schools across Delhi, Bengaluru, Varanasi, Bihar, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh to check for the presence of “dummy” students—those who are formally enrolled but do not attend classes.
Many students preparing for engineering and medical entrance exams opt for dummy schools to focus solely on their competitive exam preparations. These institutions allow them to skip regular schooling and directly appear for board exams. Additionally, some aspirants enroll in dummy schools in specific states to take advantage of regional quota benefits in medical and engineering colleges. For instance, students who complete classes 11 and 12 in Delhi qualify for the Delhi State Quota in medical college admissions.
In Kota, a hub for competitive exam coaching, posters advertising dummy schools and their fee structures are widely displayed. The cost of enrollment varies depending on the board affiliation of the school.
With student suicides among competitive exam aspirants in Kota reaching a record high this year, experts have raised concerns about dummy schools. They warn that avoiding regular schooling can hinder students’ personality development and social growth, potentially leading to mental health challenges.
CBSE is expected to take strict measures to regulate dummy school enrollments and ensure students receive holistic education rather than focusing solely on competitive exams.
