"Students Skipping School For Coaching Shouldn't Be Allowed In Board Exams": Rajasthan Court

The Rajasthan High Court has instructed both the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) to ensure students in classes nine to 12 attend their regular schools rather than coaching centers during school hours.

A division bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand has mandated surprise inspections to verify whether students are skipping school to attend coaching classes.

The court emphasized that school attendance is compulsory, and unjustified absences will lead to disciplinary measures against students, schools, and relevant authorities.

According to the directive, "The State of Rajasthan and all the boards are instructed to form Special Investigating Teams (SITs) to conduct unexpected and random inspections of schools and coaching centers. If students are absent from school but present at coaching centers during school hours, strict action must be taken against all stakeholders, including both schools and coaching centers, in accordance with the law."

The bench observed that the trend of students attending coaching centers instead of schools negatively impacts academic standards. It further stated that students who disrupt their studies mid-session should not be allowed to sit for board examinations.

This ruling emerged from a case where CBSE had identified serious deficiencies in three schools, resulting in penalties including withdrawal of provisional affiliation. These schools had challenged the order in court.

While granting the three schools a four-week period to address the identified deficiencies, the court confirmed that the schools could pursue legal remedies against any unfavorable decisions.

The court has instructed both CBSE and RBSE to establish Special Investigating Teams to conduct thorough inspections of both schools and coaching centers to enforce compliance with attendance requirements.