Gurgaon: A case was registered against four officials of a city school on Wednesday, a day after an incident in which 11 Class X students missed their CBSE mathematics examination.
The incident had sparked overnight protests by parents, after which a police complaint was filed. According to police officials, the case has been registered against Educrest International School chairman Vinay Kataria, principal Riddhima Kataria, vice principal Nidhi Batra and coordinator Sonia over allegations of cheating and falsely claiming CBSE affiliation, which put students' academic futures at risk.
The students had missed their examination on Tuesday after the school, located in Sector 9B, failed to provide admit cards amid an affiliation dispute.
The FIR was lodged at Sector-9A police station under relevant sections of the BNS, including sections 318(4), 316(2), and 3(5), which pertain to cheating, criminal breach of trust and joint liability for acts done with common intention. A resident of New Colony had approached police, alleging that he enrolled his daughter in the school based on assurances that it was affiliated with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The complainant claimed the school management showed "fake affiliation certificates and brochures" promising a "golden future" and quality education by qualified teachers, while also assuring parents that the institution would complete all board registration formalities.
Relying on these assurances, the parent said he paid substantial amounts towards tuition fees, uniforms and examination charges through bank transfers as well as cash payments. As the Class X board examinations approached, parents began seeking clarity regarding admit cards but were allegedly given evasive responses and told the documents would be issued two days before the exam.
On Feb 16, a day before the first paper, the complainant visited the school and was reportedly told the admit card would be delivered to his residence, which never happened.
Police said the matter took a serious turn when the parent checked the official CBSE portal and discovered that Educrest International School was neither affiliated nor recognised by the board and that the registration numbers shared with families were allegedly fabricated.
When confronted on the night of Feb 17, the school management allegedly told the parent that his child would have to "miss the first paper" but claimed arrangements would be made for subsequent exams, which authorities said was not possible without affiliation.
On Tuesday, chairman Kataria told TOI that the school received its CBSE affiliation only five days ago and that parents were already informed about the arrangement with other schools. "We are in the process of filing a petition in the high court," Kataria told TOI, adding that lawyers were hired to draft a petition seeking the court's permission to let the students appear for the remaining exams.
Anjali Singh is a city reporter at The Times of India based in Gu...
Read MoreAnjali Singh is a city reporter at The Times of India based in Gurgaon, where she primarily covers education, social welfare, labour , sports and condominium developments, among other topics. With a keen interest in photography, art and music, Anjali brings a creative perspective to her reporting.
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