CBSE Withdraws Jaipur’s Neerja Modi School’s affiliation After 9-Year-Old Student’s Death – How Students Will Be Affected

On 30-12-2025, the Central Board of Secondary Education (‘CBSE’) revoked the affiliation granted to Neerja Modi School, Jaipur, Rajasthan, following a detailed inquiry that revealed gross violations of mandatory child safety norms and Affiliation Bye-Laws following the tragic death of a nine-year-old student on the school premises.

Background:

On 1-11-2025, a Class IV student fell from the fourth floor of the school building and succumbed to injuries. In response, CBSE took charge and deputed a two-member Fact-Finding Committee to ascertain the circumstances leading to the incident. The Committee submitted its final report on 17-11-2025, after reviewing CCTV footage, investigating staff, and child’s parents’ statements, which concluded serious lapses and recommended action.

Neerja Modi School replied to the CBSE’s show cause notice and emphasized its long-standing reputation, building and fire safety certificates, and asserted that committees existed (Anti-Bullying, POCSO, Child Protection). It also claimed that CCTV upgrades to audio-visual systems with 15-day backup were underway. The school denied bullying allegations and suggested that cleaning the area was a unilateral act by a sweeper.

CBSE analysed that all claims by the school were insufficient untenable and the tragic loss was preventable. It rejected the school’s defence, emphasising that:

1. Past performance of the school and its reputation is not a defence for the present incident.

2. Claims by the school regarding Committees exited only on paper. with no evidence of functionality.

3. Certificates of building safety or fire compliance and showcasing the deceased child’s participation in school activities cannot substitute for ensuring her mental wellbeing and physical safety.

4. The school’s assertion that CCTV upgrades were “in progress” does not meet the mandatory requirement of actual compliance. The absence of proper surveillance and monitoring at the time of the incident reflects a clear breach of CBSE circulars and statutory safety norms.

5. Handling of the incident site was grossly improper. Immediate cleaning of the blood-stained area constituted destruction of potential forensic evidence and demonstrated disregard for legal and procedural obligations.

6. Repeated parental complaints about bullying were ignored or inadequately addressed. The school failed to refer the child or her classmates to counselling or initiate structured remedial action, despite being put on notice multiple times.

7. The absence of vigilant staff and unrestricted movement of students between floors exposed systemic lapses in supervision. These failures directly contributed to the circumstances leading to the tragedy.

The Neerja Modi school violated the following mandatory safety norms and legal provisions:

• Affiliation Bye-Laws, 2018

  • Chapter 14, Clause 14.1: Every affiliated school should follow the Bye-Laws mutatis mutandis at all times.

  • Clause 4.7.6: Mandatory safety provisions for children, including CCTV surveillance, counselling systems, anti-bullying committees, and physical safeguards.

  • Clause 4.7.10: Compliance with child protection and safety protocols as per CBSE circulars.

• National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (‘NCPCR’) Guidelines.

• National Disaster Management Authority (‘NDMA’) School Safety Policy, 2016.

• National Building Code (‘NBC’) 2005.

• Supreme Court on Safety Guidelines in Avinash Mehrotra vs Union of India (2009) 6 SCC 398.

CBSE’s order for Neerja Modi School:

Upon all the analysis and enquiry conducted by CBSE stated that:

‘A school is expected to be a safe haven for students, with society placing high expectations on the institution for the academic and overall development of its student.’

CBSE further issued operative directions impacting the school and the students:

1. Withdrawal of Affiliation:

   The affiliation of Neerja Modi School up to the Senior Secondary level stands withdrawn with immediate effect.

2. Board Students (Classes IX to XII):

   • To avoid disruption for students in their board examination year, students currently enrolled in Class X and Class XII for the academic session 2025—26 will be permitted to appear for CBSE Board Examinations from the same school.

   • All students presently studying in Class IX and Class XI must be shifted to CBSE-affiliated schools by 31-3-2026. This transition will be supervised and coordinated by the Regional Officer, CBSE, Ajmer, ensuring that these students can continue their education under CBSE without academic loss.

3. Class I to VIII:

   The status of recognition for Classes I to VIII will be decided by the Director, Secondary Education of the State Government, as this matter falls outside CBSE’s jurisdiction.

4. Admission and Promotion:

   • The school is prohibited from taking any new admissions in any class.

   • It cannot promote students of lower classes to Classes IX and XI.

5. Restoration of Affiliation:

   • The school may seek restoration up to Secondary level (Classes IX and X) only after one full academic year, i.e., from the session 2027—28, provided it demonstrates full compliance with all mandatory safety norms and child protection protocols.

   • Restoration up to Senior Secondary level (Classes XI and XII) will be considered only after two academic years following restoration of Secondary level, subject to satisfactory compliance and CBSE approval.