Dummy Schools for JEE & NEET: What Parents Must Know Before Class 11

Rohit Malekar
Oct 7
4 min read

Every reform begins when parents start asking better questions.

The recent controversy around dummy schools isn’t just about coaching and attendance; it’s about trust. Trust that a “school” means teachers, classes, and accountability, not paperwork and promises.

At SchoolDoor, we dug into court orders, board notices, and parent testimonies to help you spot the difference and make informed choices before Class 11 admissions.

🧩 What Is a Dummy School?

A dummy school exists mostly on paper. It’s officially affiliated with a board like CBSE, but its students rarely attend classes. Instead, they spend their time at private coaching centres for JEE or NEET prep.

The school provides:

Enrolment and registration for Class 11–12,
Attendance “records” even if students aren’t present,
Marks for internal assessments and practical exams.

In reality, it functions as a proxy for board formalities, not as a place of learning.

🚨 Why It’s Now Under the Scanner

In January 2025, the Delhi High Court called dummy schools a “fraud on the education system”, directing both CBSE and state governments to take action.

Following this, CBSE announced plans to:

Bar dummy-school students from appearing in Class 12 board exams from the 2025–26 session.
Disaffiliate schools found enrolling students who don’t attend classes.
Conduct surprise inspections and match attendance data [OASIS (infrastructure/staff) and LOC (exam registration)].

Over 300 schools across India are already under investigation or action.

🧭 Why This Exists: The Coaching-School Tradeoff

It’s easy to see how we got here. For years, the system rewarded exam ranks above everything else, and parents did what seemed practical: secure coaching first, fit schooling around it.

Many joined so-called “integrated” programs, believing they were legitimate shortcuts. Some even knew the compromise but took it anyway—better a safe rank than a risky reform.

But the cracks are now showing. When an entire generation learns to treat school as paperwork, it hurts everyone—students, teachers, and the value of real learning itself. What began as a coping strategy has quietly turned into a collective blind spot.

The coaching race has pushed families into impossible choices:

Board vs. Entrance tension: Coaching schedules often clash with school timings.
Result anxiety: Parents fear poor entrance performance if kids spend time in regular school.
Systemic loopholes: Some schools openly advertise “zero attendance” or “integrated” programs, promising “board + coaching” but delivering only the latter.

The dummy school became a workaround, a shortcut sold as a solution.

⚖️ The Real Costs of Dummy Schooling

1️⃣ Legal Risk: CBSE now requires 75% minimum attendance for eligibility. If inspections prove absence, students may lose the right to sit for board exams even if they’ve studied elsewhere.

2️⃣ Learning Gaps: Two years of skipped labs, projects, and language subjects weaken the very foundation that universities look for later.

3️⃣ Ethical & Career Risk: Universities, scholarships, and foreign colleges may flag transcripts from disaffiliated or blacklisted schools.

4️⃣ Emotional Toll: Students in full-time coaching often miss out on friendships, teacher mentorship, and balanced adolescent life, something no exam rank can replace.

🧾 How to Spot a Dummy School Before It’s Too Late

Here’s a SchoolDoor Parent Checklist before you sign that Class 11 form:

🧩 Check	✅ What to Verify	🚩 Red Flags
CBSE Affiliation	Verify on the CBSE Affiliation Portal.	No record, expired affiliation, or mismatch in name/address.
Attendance Policy	Ask how attendance is tracked; request to see the timetable and academic calendar.	“We handle that internally,” or “no need to attend.”
Infrastructure Reality Check	Visit the campus unannounced. See if labs, classrooms, and teachers exist.	Empty rooms, locked labs, no activity.
Internal Assessment & Practical Plan	Ask how practicals are conducted and who supervises them.	Outsourced or done “on paper.”
Board Correspondence	Schools receive circulars and inspection visits; legitimate ones will show proof.	Avoid those that evade inspection questions.
Coaching Tie-Up Transparency	Integrated programs should have a joint timetable, not a substitution.	The coaching centre lists the school only as a “partner” for certificates.
Parent Access	Join PTAs or class groups; genuine schools encourage participation.	Resistance to parent involvement or documentation.

🧠 The “Integrated School” Trap

Many coaching institutes now market themselves as “schools with in-house coaching.” Some are legitimate, with qualified teachers, CBSE affiliation, and real classes. Others simply rent an affiliation, while students never step into a classroom.

Ask directly:

“Will my child have to mark daily attendance? Are there regular classes beyond coaching?”

If the answer is no, it’s a dummy school dressed as an “integrated” one.

💡 If You’ve Already Enrolled in One

Don’t panic — act.

Check the school’s CBSE status online and call the regional office.
Ask for written confirmation of attendance and internal marks entries.
Contact the CBSE helpline or NIOS to understand transfer/regularization options.
Document all communication (emails, fee receipts, coaching tie-ups).
Join other parents — collective complaints get faster attention.

🧭 What SchoolDoor Believes

Dummy schools didn’t appear overnight. They grew in the cracks of a broken system, one that values exam ranks over real learning. But parents can change that. By demanding transparency in admissions, verifying affiliations, and sharing real experiences, parents can push both boards and schools toward accountability.

When parents speak up, education reform stops being policy talk and starts being people power.