The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has taken the drastic step of immediately withdrawing its affiliation from Jaipur's Neerja Modi School, following the tragic death of a 9-year-old student and a subsequent investigation that revealed severe lapses in safety protocols.
A Preventable Tragedy and Its Aftermath
This stringent action comes exactly two months after 9-year-old Amaira Kumar fell to her death from the fourth-floor parapet of the school on November 1. In a damning order dated December 30, the CBSE cited "gross violations of child safety norms" and statutory requirements. The Board stated that cumulative findings, based on committee reports and the school's own response, showed a "complete failure of the counselling mechanism and grievance redressal system."
The CBSE emphasized that the incident was "completely preventable" had the mandated provisions been followed. It concluded that the school's conduct reflected "willful nonobservance of child safety norms," creating an environment that could not be considered safe for students.
Severe Penalties and Student Provisions
Labeling the violations as serious breaches affecting student safety and wellbeing, the Board deemed the situation warranted the "severest penalty" of affiliation withdrawal. "A school is expected to be a safe haven for students," the order read, adding that these failures strike at the very foundation of the affiliation.
With the withdrawal effective immediately, the CBSE has made specific provisions for current students:
- Class X and XII students can appear for their Board exams from the same school for the 2025-26 session.
- Students in Classes IX and XI will be required to shift to other schools. The CBSE Regional Officer in Ajmer will facilitate their transfer by March 31, 2026 for the 2026-27 session.
- The school is barred from taking any new admissions or promoting students from lower classes to IX and XI.
Path to Restoration and State Government's Role
The order, however, leaves a window for the school's potential recovery. It states that the institution can apply for restoration of affiliation up to the secondary level from the 2027-28 academic year, but only after complying with all mandatory safety norms. An application for senior secondary level affiliation can only be moved after two academic years.
The CBSE has left the decision regarding the continuation of classes for grades 1 through 8 to the Rajasthan state government. The state's director of secondary education will decide on the school's recognition status for those classes.
The Board's action followed a visit by a 2-member CBSE fact-finding committee on November 3. The team also met the parents of the deceased girl on November 12 as part of its scrutiny.
