Criticising the existence of “dummy schools”, the Rajasthan High Court on Thursday directed the state government and educational boards to set up a Special Investigation Team to carry out surprise inspections of schools and coaching institutes, The Times of India reported.
Dummy schools are board-affiliated institutes that enrol students preparing for entrance exams such as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and the Joint Entrance Examination. Unlike traditional schools, they do not require regular classroom attendance, allowing students to spend time at the coaching centres.
Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand said that during the inspections, if a student is found absent from the school while attending the coaching classes, action would be taken against both the educational institutions, Live Law reported.
The observations came while hearing petitions filed by two schools that were de-affiliated for one year by the Central Board of Secondary Education for several alleged deficiencies, including sponsoring dummy admissions and manipulating records to mislead the board, the legal news outlet reported.
Rajasthan, particularly Kota district, has become a hub for coaching institutes, drawing thousands of students from across the country after Class 10 to prepare for college entrance tests.
On Thursday, the court described dummy schools as a “blight” and a “disgrace” to the country’s educational framework, adding that such admissions had become common in the state, The Times of India reported.
The bench said that dummy schools had turned education into a profitable business, Live Law reported.
The court observed that schools and coaching institutes collude at the request of parents because of which the students are confined to coaching centres or homes, often at the cost of their mental health.
The bench said that it was the right time for the Central Board of Secondary Education, the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education and other boards to introduce byelaws making at least 75% classroom attendance mandatory for students from Class 9 to Class 12, Live Law reported.
The parents will be required to ensure compliance, it said, adding that they must provide their children the freedom to choose their career paths.
The court said that because seats in engineering and medical colleges are limited, several students fail to clear entrance examinations and without regular schooling, they also struggle to find opportunities in other fields.
It directed the state government, the education department and school boards to set up counselling centres in schools to guide students and parents on career options instead of pushing them into a stream against their wishes, Live Law reported.
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