Riddhima is enrolled as a student of Class XI in a school in her hometown Gaya in Bihar. But she lives miles away in the coaching hub of Kota in Rajasthan where she is preparing for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Advanced, the entrance exam for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), as stated in a report by PTI.
She is not alone. Scores of students preparing for engineering and medical entrance exams prefer to take admission to dummy schools so that they can focus solely on their preparation for the competitive exams. They do not need to attend classes and can straightaway appear for Board exams.
"Many students opt to take admission in a dummy school in their hometown so that they can go back home two months before the Board exams. Coaching courses also end by then. After which, two months are devoted to the Board exams and then revision for the main goal — the entrance exams," Riddhima told PTI.
NEET aspirant
Harshvardhan from Roorkee, preparing for the medical entrance exam the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), is also enrolled in a dummy school in his hometown. "There is no problem of attendance at the school and students are also not expected to appear in any internal exam," he said.
In Kota, posters of different dummy schools along with their rates are splashed across the city. Ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000 dummy schools charge different rates depending on the boards they are affiliated with.
Aspirants choose dummy schools keeping in mind the quota in medical and engineering institutes available for students from certain states. For example, candidates who have completed their Class XI and XII education in Delhi are considered for seat quota in medical colleges of the national capital under the Delhi State Quota.
With the number of suicides among competitive exam aspirants in Kota hitting a record high this year, experts have warned against the concept of "dummy schools", saying students staying away from regular schools early often struggle with restricted personality development and growth. As per official figures, 23 students have committed suicide in Kota this year, the highest ever for the country's coaching hub. Last year, the figure was 15.
"We have raised the issue of dummy schools with the government. This concept is really negative and the practice needs to be stopped. We have also seen that some students who have enrolled in dummy schools, crack the entrance exams but don't get 75 per cent in Board exams, which is a prerequisite for admission to IITs. Students are under a dual burden. Ideally, full-time coaching should start only after class XII," OP Bunkar, the district collector of Kota told PTI.
Rajasthan CM reacts
The issue was also flagged by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at a meeting called last month in the wake of the rising student suicides. He referred to dummy schools as "fake schools". He said, "Students of Classes IX and X are enrolled in coaching institutes. You are committing a crime in a way. As if IIT is God. As soon as students come to coaching institutes, they are enrolled in fake schools."
"It is also the parents' fault. Students are enrolled in dummy schools and they do not go to schools. They have the dual burden of clearing Board exams and preparing for entrance exams," Gehlot had said.
More than 2.5 lakh students move to Kota annually to prepare for engineering and medical entrance exams. A packed schedule, cut-throat competition, constant pressure to do better, the burden of parents' expectations and homesickness are among the common struggles of the students there.
In a recent interview with PTI, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also said that the issue of dummy schools cannot be ignored. "Although the number of such students is not very high compared to the total number of students, the time has come to have serious discussions and deliberations on the subject," Pradhan had said.
