The Central Information Commission (CIC) has recommended surprise inspections of schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to check alleged dummy admissions and ensure compliance with mandatory attendance rules, news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi made the recommendation in a recent order after a complaint alleged that schools were issuing dummy certificates to students who did not attend classes.
Invoking Section 25(5) of the Right to Information Act, the commission said surprise inspections would help ensure checks and balances at affiliated schools.
“The Commission, considering the gravity of the issue flagged by the complainant seeking information regarding 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 said.
COMPLAINT FILED THROUGH AN RTI
According to PTI, the complaint was filed by an RTI applicant seeking information about attendance requirements at private missionary schools in Bhopal, as well as the board’s rules on subject selection and prescribed textbooks.
The complainant told the commission that the application was filed to expose alleged dummy admissions, under which students obtain examination results without attending classes.
The CBSE’s central public information officer initially returned the application, citing an error in the Indian Postal Order submitted as the application fee. The applicant was asked to provide a valid payment instrument payable to the CBSE secretary in Bhopal.
During the hearing, the commission said rejecting the 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 said, adding that the officer was expected to help provide a point-wise response.
The officer apologised and agreed to provide the information. The CBSE later submitted a point-wise reply, which was taken on record, PTI reported.
In its response, the board cited its Affiliation Bye-Laws, 2018, which bar affiliated schools from presenting students for board examinations if they have not attended classes regularly or do not meet the prescribed minimum attendance requirement.
The commission’s recommendation seeks to ensure that CBSE-affiliated schools follow attendance rules and do not allow students who have not regularly attended classes to appear for board examinations.
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