The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) has directed all District Education Officers (DEOs) to investigate if dummy schools are being run in their respective districts. The action was initiated based on a complaint by two state board members who had written earlier this month to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel seeking legal action against dummy schools. “Following results of Class 12 science, coaching classes preparing students for admission in IITs and medical colleges are run from Class 11. Students seeking admission in these get enrolled in these classes after Class 10. They take dummy admission in schools in Class 11 Science stream merely on paper and pay a huge fee. Teachers in such dummy schools too are only on paper. Such teachers also do not participate in the evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets. Somehow, these schools are able to get examination centres for practical exams. This is deteriorating the education sector in Gujarat,” the letter from GSHSEB members Priyavadan Korat and Dhiren Vyas states. "If such dummy schools are running in your district (especially for Class 11 and 12 Science), then forward their details with proof to the board,” GSHSEB Secretary NG Vyas directed all DEOs. Vyas said, “There has not been any complaint against any particular school but a general one against dummy schools.” Sources revealed that around three years back, the board had received some complaints and action was taken against two schools who were fined Rs 2 lakh each. However, this is the first time DEOs have been told to conduct such an inquiry. “We did not receive any such instructions earlier; this is the first time. We have alerted all schools, too, not to get involved in such activities. If any such school comes to our notice, we will set up teams and investigate and take action,” said a DEO. “If such a school comes to our notice, we will inform the board seeking it to take action. There has not been any such complaint and action taken against any dummy schools in Ahmedabad city so far,” he said. "This has been rampant for some time now but such a state-wide action will be taken for the first time," Korat said. The letter copied to Education Minister Kuber Dindor, among others, states, “The recently announced Class 12 Science results show education in Gujarat is on a downhill. ,An investigation should be done for dummy schools.”
