The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has taken the drastic step of immediately withdrawing its affiliation from Jaipur's Neerja Modi School. This severe action comes directly in response to the tragic death of a 9-year-old student and subsequent investigations that revealed grave lapses in safety and compliance.
A Preventable Tragedy and Its Aftermath
The incident that triggered this chain of events occurred on November 1, when 9-year-old Amaira Kumar fell to her death from the fourth-floor parapet of the school. In the wake of the tragedy, a two-member CBSE fact-finding committee visited the school on November 3 and later met the grieving parents on November 12.
The board's scrutiny uncovered what it termed "gross violations of child safety norms". In a strongly-worded order dated December 30, the CBSE stated that the cumulative findings showed a "complete failure of the counselling mechanism and grievance redressal system". The board concluded that the school's conduct reflected "willful non-observance" of mandated protocols, creating an unsafe environment that warranted the strictest penalty.
The CBSE Order: Key Directives and Provisions
The CBSE order, addressed to the school manager, leaves no room for ambiguity. It emphasizes that a school is expected to be a safe haven and that the violations "strike at the very foundation of the affiliation". The board explicitly noted that "this incident was completely preventable" had the required provisions been followed.
The withdrawal of affiliation is effective immediately, but the board has made specific provisions for the current student body:
- Class X and XII students can appear for their Board exams from the same school for the current 2025-26 session.
- Students in Classes IX and XI must shift to other schools. The CBSE Regional Officer in Ajmer will facilitate their transfer to nearby institutions by March 31, 2026 for the 2026-27 session.
- The school is barred from taking any new admissions and cannot promote students from lower classes to IX and XI through natural progression.
The decision on whether the school can continue operating classes 1 to 8 has been left to the Rajasthan government's director of secondary education.
Path to Restoration and a Stern Message
The CBSE order does provide a potential path for the school's recovery, but it is a long and conditional one. The institution can apply for restoration of affiliation up to the secondary level from the academic year 2027-28, but only after demonstrating full compliance with all mandatory safety norms and child safety protocols.
An application for restoration of senior secondary level affiliation can only be submitted after two academic years have passed, underscoring the seriousness with which the board views the lapses. This decision by one of India's largest educational boards sends a powerful message about the non-negotiable priority of student safety and wellbeing in affiliated institutions across the country.
