New Delhi: Duplicate registrations have plagued admissions under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category in Delhi over the past few years. Several cases of the same candidate appearing multiple times under different registration IDs have come to the fore.Data accessed by TOI shows that key details such as name, date of birth, father’s name and address often remain identical, indicating it is the same individual. However, separate entries exist in the system, sometimes leading to multiple school allotments for one candidate. Sources said that since 2018, thousands of such cases have come to light each year following internal checks. TOI has accessed a sample of 52 such cases from the 2024-25 session.Beyond duplication, sources pointed to other irregular patterns. In some cases, a specific keyword “mew” appeared in applications. “About 90% of those with that keyword in front of their names were selected. There have also been instances where a single certificate or phone number was used for dozens of applications,” sources said.On being contacted, Delhi education minister Ashish Sood confirmed that such anomalies had been detected. “We have found many kinds of discrepancies. We have initiated an inquiry into this and are considering roping in CBI,” he said.He added, “During 2024-25, a total of 2,40,084 applications were received for admissions under EWS/DG/CWSN categories. Of them, more than 1 lakh applications were found to be multiple or duplicate entries, which were approximately 75% higher than the number of genuine applications. This gives an estimate of how many such cases may have existed each year. Seats were being given to ineligible candidates for lakhs of rupees.”At the school level, officials said that the role is largely indirect, as schools do not control the centralised lottery process. However, they may still notice repeated or suspicious entries in admission lists. Some of the students had secured admissions in prominent schools too.Multiple queries sent to Aam Aadmi Party, which held office at the time, remained unanswered.TOI also reached out to several schools where such allotments were made, but most did not respond. The principal of a central Delhi school said, “EWS admissions are through the directorate. All schools get the EWS list from the directorate and comply with that. We receive a complete list with registration numbers”. She declined to comment on whether schools verify these admissions.Officials explained that the process often begins with a legitimate EWS application, but high competition leads to rejection. Some applicants may then turn to agents, who exploit earlier system weaknesses by submitting multiple applications with minor variations. “With weak deduplication checks, each entry is treated as a separate candidate in the centralised lottery, increasing the probability of selection,” an official explained.In one instance, only the registration ID differed while all other details—name, father’s name, date of birth, address, and even the allotted school—remained identical. Other cases showed variations such as different registration IDs and dates of birth with the same remaining details, or different schools allotted despite identical personal information. There were also instances of slight address modifications or applications submitted for different classes using the same core details. Sources said these were only a few examples, with a number of permutations used to generate multiple IDs in the absence of strict verification.“This can result in one child securing multiple allotments, even across schools. Since only one seat is ultimately taken, the others remain blocked, reducing access for genuine applicants and potentially enabling backdoor entries,” the official added.Sources also pointed to the possible involvement of agent networks or data entry operators in duplicate registrations.Sood said when they took charge, they used the same system to conduct the draw. “Soon after, complaints began to surface. On investigation, we found the software was neither properly coded nor approved, and had no audit checks,” he added.Officials said several corrective steps have been taken this year. “With technological improvements, NIC-developed software and Aadhaar-based verification, effective checks have been implemented to eliminate duplicate and erroneous applications,” an official said.
