CBSE’s rules are ignored with impunity. The dummy school culture is spreading like wildfire especially in major cities. Students aspiring for medical or engineering courses formally enrol in CBSE-affiliated schools but never step foot inside their classrooms. Their entire focus remains on coaching, defeating the purpose of formal schooling
Nagpur: In a shocking revelation, Nagpur Today’s sting operation has uncovered a massive racket involving dummy schools in Nagpur, blatantly violating CBSE regulations. Despite clear warnings from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) that students who do not attend regular classes will not be permitted to appear for Class 12 board exams, this corrupt practice continues unchecked. Nagpur Today’s undercover investigation has revealed that top coaching institutes like Aakash Institute and Allen are actively colluding with dummy schools to facilitate this illegal arrangement.
As part of this sting operation, Nagpur Today’s team engaged with representatives of these coaching institutes, who openly disclosed their tie-ups with several dummy schools in the city. Our special report includes shocking conversations with these institute officials, exposing how education has been reduced to a business model that exploits desperate students and parents.
The flourishing coaching industry in Nagpur, primarily focused on JEE and NEET preparation, has turned education into a well-oiled business operation. Coaching centres, to attract students, collaborate with dummy schools that allow students to remain absent while continuing their coaching classes.
In our sting operation, Aakash Institute officials named multiple dummy schools they have tie-ups with, including:
- Kendriya Vidyalaya
- St. Xavier’s School
- Delhi Public School (Lava)
- Sancheti School
Similarly, Allen Institute officials admitted their nexus with:
- Centre Point School (all three branches)
- Sancheti School
- School of Scholars (four branches)
- St. Paul’s School
Listen to Admission by Institute
What are dummy schools?
Dummy schools are institutions where students are officially enrolled but never attend classes. Instead, they devote all their time to coaching centres preparing for competitive exams. Coaching institutes partner with these schools to ensure students are registered under the CBSE board while avoiding academic obligations like attendance, practical exams, and internal assessments. This system is most prevalent among Science stream students preparing for JEE and NEET.
A multi-crore business model
Despite parents spending lakhs on their children’s education, there is a growing fear that without coaching, high scores are unattainable. This fear is exploited by coaching institutes and dummy schools, which operate in deep collusion. Parents of students enrolling for JEE and NEET coaching are secretly introduced to dummy schools through middlemen. These middlemen maintain weekly contact with coaching centres, ensuring a steady supply of students willing to pay hefty amounts for dummy school admissions.
- Coaching institutes pay commissions to these middlemen for each student enrolled in dummy schools.
- The racket is estimated to involve crores of rupees, operating with near-total impunity.
CBSE’s rules remain toothless
The dummy school culture is spreading like wildfire across India, especially in major cities. Students aspiring for medical or engineering courses formally enroll in CBSE-affiliated schools but never step foot inside their classrooms. Their entire focus remains on coaching, defeating the purpose of formal schooling.
CBSE has recently announced strict action against such students, warning that those who fail to attend regular classes will not be allowed to appear for board exams. However, institutes like Aakash and Allen continue to disregard these regulations. Career counsellors from these institutes even mock CBSE’s rules, stating that such policies keep changing and have no impact on their business model.
Education or exploitation?
Nagpur Today’s sting operation has exposed the commercialization of education, where coaching institutes and dummy schools function as parallel, unregulated businesses. With CBSE’s regulations being ignored and students being reduced to commodities, the question remains—who will put an end to this deeply entrenched system?
Notably, the CBSE is planning to amend its examination bye-laws to prohibit such students from appearing in the board exams, requiring them to take the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) exam instead.
.. By Vanshika Malviya and Radhika Gupta
