Schools affiliated to the CBSE continue to admit excess students in Classes XI and XII to help them pursue outside coaching while being marked present despite not attending classes.

The board's repeated surprise checks and actions have not been able to curb the practice. Earlier this month, the national board carried out surprise inspections in 27 schools — 22 in Delhi and five in Rajasthan — and found each of them to have admitted more students in Classes XI and XII than what they had in Classes IX and X.

On September 13, the board issued showcause notices to these schools, according to a press release by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) secretary Himanshu Gupta.

“The inspections revealed that schools had enrolled a higher number of students in Class XI and XII, who are not physically attending the classes. Moreover, discrepancies were noted in the attendance records maintained by these schools, casting doubt on their compliance with CBSE regulations. It was also found that some institutions were flouting infrastructure norms set forth by the board, compromising the quality of education and safety of students,” said the release.

In December 2023, the board carried out surprise inspections in 34 schools and found actionable evidence against 23 schools. The board disaffiliated 20 schools and downgraded three others.

The principals of two schools here said that schools sponsoring dummy candidates had increased in the last few years after the Union government introduced the centralised entrance test for admission to undergraduate courses in universities.

A member of the inspection teams said that the schools they visited had admitted nearly 10 times more than the permitted strength in Classes XI and XII.

“Some schools admit a large number of students in Class XI and XII without facilities. These are called dummy schools. Some of the schools provide coaching inside the school while some have tie-ups with coaching centres outside,” said a principal.

Students enrolled in regular schools have to do projects and assignments. They are required to fulfil 75 per cent attendance too. The private coaching institutions tell the parents to admit their children to some private school in Classes XI and XII where the school "takes care of the attendance".

“The dummy schools give all kinds of freedom. Students do not attend classes or practical sessions. The school maintains false records to be submitted to the CBSE. The student smoothly focuses on coaching,” the principal said.