CBSE Unveils Widespread Infiltration of 'Dummy Students' in Education System

Two-thirds of a sample of schools evaluated by the CBSE, the biggest education board in the nation with 28,000 affiliated schools, were found to be plagued with "dummy students."

Dummy students are Class XI and XII students who, in order to pass their upper secondary board examinations, fake their attendance by spending the full two-year session at coaching centers while still enrolled in classes.

Education experts have attributed the scheme to the introduction of admission exams at the national level for all subjects and streams, which have increased demand for tutoring and decreased the value of board scores.

23 of the 34 schools that the CBSE visited on December 21, 2017, spanning many states, had phony pupils on their books, according to sources.

They stated that since the board was informed about just a portion of the schools it examined—the others were chosen at random—the findings could not be applied to all CBSE schools.

A private school principal from Delhi who was on the inspection team for a specific school said that the school had only 60 pupils in Classes IX and X combined, but that figure shot up to 500 in Classes XI and XII.

However, she added, the inspection team discovered that Class XI had zero attendance and Class XII had about fifty.

The 23 schools have received showcause letters from the CBSE. In order to sit for the board examinations, a student must have at least 75% of their attendance, as per CBSE regulations.

According to the principal who spoke with this publication, coaching centers accept fictitious pupils in order to help them study for different competitive examinations. The parents are persuaded by the coaching centers that they would also handle the upper secondary curriculum.

They convince parents to enroll their children in certain schools that these coaching centers have partnerships with, claiming that the kids may take their board examinations there but aren't compelled to attend lessons there. The schools generate a good profit without needing to spend money on new facilities or hiring more instructors.

"Students who excel in conventional schools are being transferred to pretend schools. The school principal said, "They concentrate on the Joint Entrance Examination, National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test, and the Common University Entrance Test instead of the Class XII board examinations.

According to her, this is because the board examinations have been reduced to qualifying exams at the national level. Students must now pass the board exams in order to be considered for college admission, which is determined only by their performance on the competitive exams.

She made a suggestion on how to stop the use of fake students in admissions, saying, "I feel some weightage should be given to the Class XII board scores during admission."

The NEET is the only entrance test for seats in medical and dental colleges, whereas the CUET is required for admission to general courses at central institutions. The entrance exam for the most esteemed engineering institutes is the JEE.

Prince Gajendra Babu, an education campaigner, stated: "Previously, pupils' college entrance (especially for general courses) was determined by their board scores. Children are now only taught how to ace exams at coaching centers. He said, "Learning has become a casualty."

The parents should have the most of the responsibility for the tendency, according to Usha Ram, the former principal of the Laxman Public School.

"I have observed schools permitting coaching centers to operate out of their buildings," the woman said. The children's overall growth is what matters. Just concentrating on coaching is ineffective.

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