CBSE scraps Jaipur school affiliation over 9-year-old student's suicide

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has cancelled the affiliation of Neerja Modi School in Jaipur, two months after a nine-year-old girl, a Class 4 student, allegedly jumped off the fourth floor of the school building on November 1.

Also read: What alleged deaths by suicide of school kids say of our awareness of mental health issues in young

The CBSE assigned a two-member fact-finding committee to conduct surprise inspections at the school, interact with parents of students and staff, examine CCTV footage and review the institute's records. The committee found serious lapses and the board said the case involved systemic failure, negligence, and lack of accountability, and that the tragedy could have been prevented.

The findings

The CBSE’s detailed eight-page order dated December 30 said the incident exposed that mandatory child safety norms were not complied with and concluded that the school was not fit to have an affiliation.

Also read: Jaipur schoolgirl suicide: Parents allege bullying, teachers' negligence

The board also took into consideration that bloodstains at the spot where the girl fell were wiped almost immediately, noting that it amounted to removal of potential forensic evidence.

The order said, "The removal of vital material evidence within minutes of the incident demonstrates a serious breach of legal and procedural obligations.”

No bullying redressal

The board also discovered that there was an almost non-existent anti-bullying systems in place, paired with the absence of a functional counselling mechanism while repeated complaints by parents about their child experiencing bullying were ignored.

Also read: Bullying leads to non-diagnosable signs of psychosis in teenagers: Study

It also rejected the school's claim that the child was happy and academically active, and stated that such arguments were irrelevant to the core issue — which is the lack of safety compliance.

The CBSE said it was evident that despite the girl's parents making repeated approaches, the school only held talks during parent-teacher meetings, and did not initiate any structured or proactive intervention into the case.

Also read: CBSE’s CCTV mandate sparks concerns over privacy, misuse, and teacher freedom

It said possession of structural or fire safety certificates doesn't substitute mandatory child safety measures as sought under the Affiliation By-Laws.”

Immediate action

According to the board, the school’s conduct compromised with child safety norms, making the school environment unsafe, and warranted the most severe penalty — which was withdrawal of affiliation.

The most striking and crucial observation by the Board was that, “The only answer to the fundamental question is that this incident was completely preventable had the required provisions been followed."