25 Manipur Schools Lose CBSE Affiliation Over Alleged Paperwork Fraud

Twenty-five schools in Manipur have lost their CBSE affiliation after the state government flagged to the central board that it had not given no-objection certificates to the schools.

The Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) bylaws make it a legal requirement for state board schools to get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state government before applying for central board affiliation.

The CBSE SARAS 4.0 website no longer shows the 25 schools in Kangpokpi and Churachandpur as "affiliated". SARAS is short for 'School Affiliation Re-Engineered Automation System' that updates in real-time the affiliation status of over 28,900 schools across India.

"... CBSE has withdrawn affiliation which was recently granted to the schools... with immediate effect on the ground that the NOCs submitted by these schools have not been issued by the authorised functionaries of the state government..." Manipur school education joint secretary Anjali Chongtham said in a statement today.

The Manipur government in the statement also warned it will act against those responsible for violating state education and CBSE rules, or worse, for alleged fraud in submitting affiliation requests to the central board.

Education Minister Th Basanta told reporters in Imphal that the last time the Education Department gave any NOC was in May 2020.

After an initial investigation, the government has narrowed down to an education officer in Kangpokpi and a former education officer in Churachandpur for allegedly handing out NOCs without the knowledge of the state government, people familiar with the matter in the education department told NDTV today, requesting anonymity.

Eleven of the 25 schools got CBSE affiliation in the period between May 2020 and May 2023, and 14 received affiliation in the past six months. All the 25 schools are in the two hill districts Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, where violence began in May between the valley-majority Meiteis, who want the affirmative action Scheduled Tribes (ST) category, and the hill-majority Kuki tribes, who want a separate administration carved out from Manipur.

The change of the education board from state to central in the two hill districts became extremely controversial after it was seen as a soft attempt at formalising a new arrangement.

At least seven school principals in Kangpokpi district told NDTV on Monday their ZEO, who worked under the education department, gave the NOCs.

Lingtinneng Singsit is the Kangpokpi ZEO, who signed the NOC (embedded below) for LM English School, on July 11, 2023, documents show.

The Churachandpur ZEO told NDTV on Monday his predecessor who left in June this year handled the NOC applications, while he took over in July and has no knowledge of the matter.

In Churachandpur, none of the four newly affiliated schools - before they lost affiliation today - had working phone numbers. One had only '0000' as the contact number. Not having working phones and having inconsistent details such as the phone number or address of the principal turning out to be of a relative are violations of the CBSE's bylaws for affiliation.

"The situation in Manipur after May 3 was such that functioning under the state board was becoming impossible. We have to go to Imphal for exam coordination and other state board work. How would that be possible?" the principal of a Kangpokpi school freshly affiliated with the CBSE told NDTV yesterday, requesting anonymity.

Another school principal in Kangpokpi said they have followed due process in applying for NOC, and showed the letters they have written to the education department seeking NOC for education board switch. Though this principal could not show the education department's response, he showed the NOC they have received from the zonal education officer. The principal declined to comment further when asked whether they knew it could violate rules to not have NOC from the education department under the state minister as the ZEO doesn't have the overall authority to hand out NOCs.

The Kangpokpi school principals, however, questioned what they called the authorities' "obtuse focus" on procedures when all that the students needed amid the ethnic clashes and other cataclysmic disruptions was academic continuity, whether CBSE or state board.

The hill district school principals cited difficulty in coordinating with the education department at a time when battle lines have been clearly drawn on the basis of ethnicity and deep mistrust. All the principals NDTV spoke to in Kangpokpi requested anonymity.

The state government is very clear, however, that action would be taken against schools including withdrawing their affiliation if any of them is again found not following due process.

"The principals are not thinking right. What are they implying? Short-circuit administrative processes amid the unfortunate outbreak of violence? No one said NOC won't be given. All of us work for students. Questionable and unethical decisions by some school administrations can't be allowed to harm the future of students," a senior officer in the education department who was among a small team that looked into the initial investigation in the CBSE affiliation matter told NDTV today, requesting anonymity.

Education department officials on Monday had told NDTV they would not rule out fraud and forgery since the state government had not given any NOC. They said they are constantly speaking to the zonal education officers of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, but gave not further details.