The Delhi high court has expressed concerns about the unchecked proliferation of ‘dummy schools,’ which is negatively impacting students who genuinely meet the ‘local education’ criteria and allowing ineligible individuals to secure seats under the Delhi state quota. The court has issued a notice and requested responses from various authorities, including the Delhi government, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Directorate General of Health Services, Delhi University (DU) and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), in response to a petition addressing the proliferation of these dummy schools, according to an official statement.
The court has scheduled further hearings on November 29 regarding this matter. The high court was addressing a public interest litigation (PIL) that challenges the eligibility criteria used by both DU and GGSIPU when allocating MBBS or Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) seats under the DSQ, as per the statement.
Rajeev Aggarwal, petitioner, has asserted that the concept behind ‘dummy schools’ is to provide a virtual platform for students to claim that they have relocated to Delhi after passing their grade 10th exams with the sole intention of availing the benefits of Delhi state quota seats. These seats should rightfully be allocated to bona fide residents of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, the statement mentioned.
In response to these allegations, Delhi government standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi has contended that there is no such concept as ‘dummy schools’ in Delhi.
According to the criteria outlined, only candidates who have completed their grade 11th and 12th education at a recognised school located within Delhi, often referred to as ‘local education,’ are considered eligible for seat allocation under the DSQ, as stated in the plea. The petitioner’s legal counsel argued that Delhi is distinct from other states in prescribing ‘local education’ as the sole criterion for determining eligibility for the state quota, it added.
The counsel further argued that this criterion facilitates the proliferation of ‘dummy schools’ throughout the national capital, which has a detrimental impact on students who genuinely meet the ‘local education’ requirement under the DSQ. ‘Dummy schools’ are essentially virtual platforms established in collaboration with private schools and coaching institutes, which are officially recognised as schools by the CBSE, even though they do not provide regular education or have a physical campus, the statement said.
With inputs from PTI.