Gurgaon: The strange predicament of nine Class X students — who spent the entire year studying CBSE syllabus, only to be pushed to write Haryana board exams at the last moment — has brought to the fore how institutions forge dodgy tie-ups to circumvent affiliation and make money on the side.
Their school, Educrest International, ran a Class X batch without CBSE affiliation, took full fees in advance, and then relied on informal tie-ups with CBSE-affiliated institutions to secure admit cards. When those arrangements fell through for a part of the batch, the nine students were left unregistered and effectively locked out of the CBSE exams.
Some of the parents moved Punjab and Haryana High Court, which intervened earlier this week and ordered that the nine students be allowed to write their Class 10 boards exams under the state board. They wrote their first paper on Thursday.
Educrest had 25 students in Class X. According to the school, 14 students managed to get admit cards through other affiliated institutions, but the remaining students could not be "accommodated" before the registration deadline. The result? No registration, no admit cards, and no CBSE board exams. Of 11 students who were not allowed inside the exam hall, the parents of nine moved HC.
Officials agreed that the episode was not a one-off administrative lapse, but a symptom of a wider, risky practice in which unaffiliated schools operate senior classes by using "third-party" affiliations to show students on the rolls of another school — on paper — while teaching them elsewhere.
"This shadow system was operational for years. Unaffiliated schools often collect full tuition and examination fees from unsuspecting parents, only to later ‘sell' these students to larger, CBSE-accredited schools to be registered there. The process is highly calculated and begins years before the board exams," an education department official said.
A similar case surfaced in the city in Feb last year, when three students of Orchids International School in Sector 49 were initially denied admit cards and missed their first English paper amid CBSE affiliation and documentation delays. After parents protested, Delhi High Court intervened and hall tickets were issued.
Officials explained that many schools can legally function up to Class 8, where CBSE scrutiny is not as stringent. The pressure point comes in Class 9, when the Board requires student registration and a list of candidates, beginning a verification cycle that culminates in the Class 10 exams. If a student is not properly registered in time, last-minute fixes are nearly impossible.
"It is at this critical juncture that unaffiliated schools seek out ‘compromised' but accredited institutions to formalise arrangements that exist largely on paper. Students continue to attend classes at the unaffiliated ‘feeder' school, while officially being shown as enrolled at the accredited ‘partner' school. Fees are divided between the two institutions in a discreet understanding," another official said.
In effect, officials said, the child studies in one school but exists in the records of another. To CBSE, the student appears legitimate because the paperwork sits with an affiliated institution.
Officials said CBSE typically steps in only when specific complaints are received. "Unless a formal complaint is lodged, there is no way for the Board to detect the discrepancy," an official said.
Educrest owner Vinay Kataria said the school had been running for eight years but never received CBSE affiliation for classes 9 and 10. "We had permission up to Class 8. So, we applied for affiliation for classes 9 and 10. But during an inspection, some rooms were under construction, which is why our file was rejected," he said.
Kataria agreed that Educrest previously had a tie-up with a Delhi-based CBSE-affiliated institution, which enabled last year's Class X students to take the CBSE boards. "This year, it did not work out because the Delhi school got de-affiliated. Some affiliated schools agreed to register a limited number of outside students, so 14 got their admit cards. But the remaining students could not be accommodated before the deadline. They were left unregistered and did not receive hall tickets," he added.
CBSE chairperson Rahul Singh said such arrangements are prohibited and can invite strict action. "This is simply not allowed. If we find a school indulging in it, it is liable to be de-affiliated," he said.
Parents said the cost of the system's collapse was being borne entirely by the children, who had done nothing wrong. "The last-minute change has caused immense mental stress. They were already anxious about exams, and the uncertainty only added to the pressure. We want accountability. Schools cannot play with the future of students by keeping parents in the dark about affiliation issues," said a parent who approached the HC.
Another parent reiterated that the students had to scramble to switch tracks. "We felt completely helpless when exams began and our children were not allowed to sit because of an affiliation dispute that was never clearly explained to us. The fault is not the students', yet they were the ones made to suffer," he added.
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