CBSE issues notice to Jaipur private school over death of class 4 student

CBSE issued a show-cause notice to a Jaipur school after a Class 4 student's death, citing bullying complaints and safety violations.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to a Jaipur private school, where a Class 4 student died after jumping from the fourth floor on November 1. The board said its two-member committee found that the “spot of fall was washed” before forensic examination and that the school had allegedly ignored repeated complaints of bullying by the 9-year-old girl’s parents for nearly 18 months before the incident.

CBSE said the inspection by the panel revealed “gross violations” of Affiliation Bye-Laws and “severe lapses” in child safety. (Representational image)

CBSE said the inspection by the panel revealed “gross violations” of Affiliation Bye-Laws and “severe lapses” in child safety, bullying prevention and school infrastructure. The panel concluded that the school failed to maintain a “healthy atmosphere” and did not comply with statutory obligations related to bullying, safety and child protection.

The board has asked the school management to explain why penalties under Chapter 12 of the Affiliation Bye-Laws should not be imposed. These penalties range from warnings and fines to downgrading, suspension or even withdrawal of affiliation. The school has been given 30 days to respond, after which CBSE may take further action as per rules.

All CBSE-affiliated schools are required to follow all provisions of its examination and affiliation Bye-Laws, the mandatory rules schools must follow on safety, infrastructure, academics and student protection.

CBSE had formed a two-member committee and was sent for surprise inspection of the school on November 3. The committee reported multiple safety breaches, including that students were not wearing ID cards, and noted the lack of a safety and security committee, and inadequate CCTV monitoring, despite the school having over 5,000 students.

The committee also highlighted violations of national guidelines, including those issued by the Supreme Court, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Building Code, noting unsafe infrastructure, lack of monitoring, absence of safety nets on higher floors, missing floor attendants, and non-compliance with mandatory child-protection protocols.

During a follow-up visit to the child’s family on November 12, the committee found that the school had allegedly ignored repeated parental complaints of bullying over nearly 18 months. The parents said the school took “no preventive and proactive action” despite multiple reports that classmates used “bad words”, made derogatory comments, and repeatedly harassed the child. The parents have demanded the “strictest action” and cancellation of the school’s affiliation.

According to the committee’s findings, the child had approached her class teacher, five times in the last 45 minutes before the incident, pleading for help regarding remarks written on a digital slate by classmates. CCTV footage reviewed by the committee showed that the teacher “took no corrective action” and even shouted in class, while the child appeared “puzzled”, “embarrassed” and “extremely disturbed” but was never referred to the school counsellor despite several distress signals, violating CBSE’s mandatory requirements for counsellors, anti-bullying protocols and Pocso-linked reporting obligations.