Gurgaon: Vineet Kataria, the chairperson of Educrest International School in Sector 9B, was arrested for allegedly enrolling students in classes 9 and 10 despite not having affiliation from CBSE and eventually failing to provide them admit cards, causing 11 of them to miss their boards.Kataria (38), a resident of Sector 9, was arrested from Bilaspur Chowk on Friday. During questioning, he admitted that the school’s CBSE recognition was only up to Class 8, police said.“Motivated by financial gains, he misled parents and admitted Class 9 and 10 students by falsely claiming CBSE recognition, impacting the academic future of at least 25 children,” police spokesperson Sandeep Turan said.A case against Kataria was registered at Sector 9A police station on Feb 18 for fraud, forgery and criminal conspiracy. Apart from him, the FIR also named principal Riddhima Kataria, vice-principal Simer Batra, coordinator Sonia and other staff.Police said the case began with a written complaint from a parent on Feb 18. The complainant alleged that the school claimed CBSE affiliation at the time of admission and displayed a certificate carrying an affiliation number. Students were charged full fees —tuition, building fund, examination and computer fees — like any regular CBSE school.However, as the Class 10 board exams neared, students were not issued admit cards. While checking, the parent found that the school was not affiliated with CBSE beyond Class 8, and the Class 10 registration number shown to parents was fake.The management, according to cops, then tried to “adjust” 11 Class 10 students into other schools after failing to secure their CBSE admit cards. Educrest first attempted to place them in a Delhi school, but the plan collapsed after the school they approached lost affiliation. A second attempt to shift the students to a school in Palwal also failed because the enrolment process could not be completed in time.As a result, the students could not be registered for the CBSE Class 10 examinations. With the exam window closing, the 11 students missed their CBSE papers.Nine of 11 parents approached Punjab and Haryana High Court, which allowed their children to appear for the Haryana Board exams. This was a strange predicament for the students, who studied the CBSE syllabus through the year. Turan urged families to verify affiliations before admission. “Parents should check official recognition and report any discrepancy immediately. Any act that jeopardises students’ futures will be dealt with strictly under the law,” he said.
