Dummy admissions on rise in city

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 8

The city is witnessing a sharp increase in the number of dummy admissions to private schools. 

These schools give relaxation to students in their class attendance. The students prepare for the highly competitive medical and engineering entrance exams by joining private coaching centres. 

Thousands of students are preparing for the entrance exams at private coaching centres in Delhi, Chandigarh and Kota (Rajasthan) A large number of students from across the state are receiving coaching for the entrance exams at various private centres in Bathinda as well. 

The students start preparing for the entrance exams after passing out Class X. They spend around two years in Bathinda, where they attend classes at coaching centres on a regular basis. During two years, most of the students are enrolled as regular students at various private schools.

The students rarely visit the schools to attend regular classes. They only visit the school to appear for exams as regular students.

The ‘dummy’ admission process has been going on for the past many years. There are many students who are receiving coaching in Bathinda. Even hundreds of other students from here receive coaching for the entrance exams in Chandigarh, Kota (Rajasthan) and Delhi.

Many coaching centres are playing the role of a facilitator in the admission process once a student deposits his/her coaching fee. 

The coaching centres stay in touch with many private schools where these students are enrolled as regular students. They always get the attendance of regular classes, which were not attended by them.   

It is a violation of the RBSE and CBSE rule of 75 per cent attendance at the school.

It is a ‘two-way’ understanding between the coaching centres and the schools. The private schools charge full fee from students only to enrol them as a regular student. 

The schools see their profit in dummy admission as the students clear the board examination with good marks while receiving coaching at private centres and the schools get the credit.

It is a profitable move for the coaching centres as well as for the students. If the students regularly attend their school then they have to devote extra time at the coaching centres to prepare for the entrances tests after clearing the school exams. 

But by joining the coaching classes after passing the Class X, the students save their time for the entrance exams preparation. Coaching centres always witness heavy footfall of students.

A teacher, providing coaching for medical and IIT entrance exams at a coaching centre, said the aspirant students mainly focus on the entrance test, their gateway to the bright future, so they need to learn the latest pattern of the entrance exam. Passing the board exam was just a formality for them, the teacher added.

Echoing this thought, the father of a 16-year-old girl in Bathinda said, “I got my daughter admitted to a private school at a village just for the sake of formality. She was sent to Kota (Rajasthan) to receive  coaching for the IIT entrance exam.”

“My daughter is not involved in any cheating or wrongdoing. She is an intelligent student who will appear for the board exam and solve the questions purely on merit. So whether she attends the classes in school regularly or not, it doesn’t matter. What matters is as to how many marks she gets in the board exam,” he said.

Prepare after class X

Thousands of students are preparing for the entrance exams at private coaching centres in Delhi, Chandigarh, Kota (Rajasthan) and Bathinda. They start preparing for the entrance exams after passing out Class X. 

Dist Education Dept hardly bothers 

The District Education Department is hardly concerned with these dummy enrolments as almost all private schools affiliated to the CBSE are indulging in the practice.

Violation of rule

Many coaching centres are playing the role of a facilitator in the admission process once a student deposits his/her coaching fee. The coaching centres stay in touch with many private schools where these students are enrolled as regular students. They always get the attendance of regular classes, which were not attended by them. It is a violation of the RBSE and CBSE rule of 75 per cent attendance at the school.

Parent speak

"I got my daughter admitted to a private school at a village just for the sake of formality. She was sent to Kota (Rajasthan) to receive coaching for the IIT entrance exam. My daughter is not involved in any cheating or wrongdoing. She is an intelligent student who will appear for the board exam and solve the questions purely on merit. So whether she attends the classes in school regularly or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is as to how many marks she gets in the board exam" — Father of a 16-year-old girl