CBSE may take disciplinary action against the school for referring such students for the exam.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced that students who do not attend regular schools will not be permitted to sit for the Class 12 board exams. CBSE officials clarified that the responsibility for enrolling in dummy schools rests with the students and their parents.
The CBSE is actively working to curb the issue of "dummy schools" and is considering amendments to its examination bye-laws to prevent these students from appearing for the board exams. Instead, such students will be required to take the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) exams.
"A senior board official stated that if candidates are found absent from school or are identified as non-attendees during surprise inspections conducted by the board, they may be disqualified from appearing in the board exams. The responsibility for not attending regular school also lies with the student and their parents," the official told PTI.
Considering the board's affiliation and examination bye-laws, official said that the action against schools promoting such a 'dummy' culture or sponsoring non-attending students will be taken.
The issue of dummy school was also taken up in the recent Governing Board Meeting of the board where it was recommended that the decision be implemented from academic session 2025-2026.
"In the examination committee the matter was discussed elaborately and came to the conclusion that as per the board regulations, a minimum of 75 per cent attendance is mandatory for students to be eligible to appear for the board examinations. In case the required attendance is not met, merely enrolling at a non-attending school may not entitle such students to appear for the CBSE examination," he said.
"Such students may approach the NIOS to appear in the examination if not allowed by CBSE. It was also discussed that the board offers a 25 per cent relaxation only in cases of exigencies such as medical emergencies, participation in national or international sports events and other serious reasons," the official added.
To Not Consider Candidature Of Students With Low Attendance
The board will soon announce that the students who do not have required attendance may not be considered. CBSE may take disciplinary action against the school for referring such students for the exam.
"It was also decided that CBSE may explore with NIOS on the above proposal and prepare the guidelines which could be issued in the next academic session," the official added.
Scores of students preparing for engineering and medical entrance exams prefer to take admission in dummy schools so that they can focus solely on their preparations for competitive exams. Such students are entitled not to attend classes and straightaway appear in the class 12 board exams. Another reason for opting dummy school is to take advantage of state-specific quotas. This can be beneficial for admissions to medical and engineering colleges.
(With inputs from PTI)