Gurgaon: Eleven Class 10 students missed their CBSE board maths paper on Tuesday after their school in Sector 9 failed to get them admit cards following a dispute over affiliation, sparking nightlong protests by parents and a police complaint.Parents alleged that Educrest International School kept delaying the admit cards despite taking full fees in advance, leaving families panicked and students uncertain about whether they would be allowed to write the remaining papers. Out of a batch of 25, only 14 students received hall tickets. The rest reached the test centre without an admit card, only to be turned back despite months of preparation. The school, parents said, had a CBSE affiliation only till Class 8, but had got students registered for board exams through other institutions. They claimed they were repeatedly assured that “all formalities were complete”, but the admit cards were held back until the last moment.The situation escalated over the weekend. According to parents, the school first promised the admit cards on Saturday, then shifted the deadline to Monday afternoon, and later to Monday evening. Late in the evening, they were told several students had missed registration timelines and their admit cards had not been released.“Our children prepared for the exams through the year, but were informed only at the last moment that their admit cards had not been released. We gathered outside the deputy commissioner’s residence late on Monday night and continued our protest till around 3am. We sought his urgent intervention,” said Virender Kumar, a parent.Parents again protested near the DC office on Tuesday morning, demanding immediate action and clarity.A tense confrontation also played out at the school, where parents questioned the principal. According to them, the principal claimed she visited the CBSE regional office, but no solution was reached before the exam on Tuesday.The school owner, Vinay Kataria, said earlier batches had managed to take the exams through “a similar arrangement”, but the problem arose this year after a Delhi-based partner school was de-affiliated. “We attempted to transfer the students to other schools in Gurgaon to ensure their registration. However, these attempts largely failed. We tried across the city, but some schools did not take them due to fear of being de-registered,” he added.Kataria claimed Educrest received its CBSE affiliation only “5 days ago”, and that parents were already informed about the “arrangement” with other schools. “We are in the process of filing a petition in the high court,” he said, adding that lawyers had been hired to draft a petition seeking the court’s permission to let the students appear for the remaining papers.A senior CBSE official said the affected students could write the remaining papers if they got their admit cards by then. “If a student misses a few papers, they can be put in the compartment category. They can take a supplementary exam later this year without having to repeat the entire year,” the official added. Parents have filed a complaint at Sector-9A police station, accusing the school management of cheating and putting students’ futures in grave uncertainty.The protests by parents also drew official scrutiny. In a directive on Tuesday, the district elementary education officer asked Educrest to “immediately explain” how it was conducting classes till 10 without clear legal authority. Records — seen by TOI — showed the school’s recognition only for classes 1 to 8. “The principal has been asked to visit the mini secretariat and produce valid affiliation documents for higher classes. Failure to do so will result in a report being filed with the deputy commissioner and directorate for unilateral legal action,” an official said. Gurgaon: Eleven Class 10 students missed their CBSE board maths paper on Tuesday after their school in Sector 9 failed to get them admit cards following a dispute over affiliation, sparking nightlong protests by parents and a police complaint.Parents alleged that Educrest International School kept delaying the hall tickets despite taking full fees in advance, leaving families panicked and students uncertain about whether they would be allowed to write the remaining papers. Out of a batch of 25, only 14 students received hall tickets. The rest reached the test centre without an admit card, only to be turned back despite months of preparation. The school, parents said, had a CBSE affiliation only till Class 8, but had got students registered for board exams through other institutions. They claimed they were repeatedly assured that “all formalities were complete”, but the admit cards were held back until the last moment.The situation escalated over the weekend. According to parents, the school first promised the admit cards on Saturday, then shifted the deadline to Monday afternoon, and later to Monday evening. Late in the evening, they were told several students had missed registration timelines and their admit cards had not been released.“Our children prepared for the exams through the year, but were informed only at the last moment that their admit cards had not been released. We gathered outside the deputy commissioner’s residence late on Monday night and continued our protest till around 3am. We sought his urgent intervention,” said Virender Kumar, a parent.Parents again protested near the DC office on Tuesday morning, demanding immediate action and clarity.A tense confrontation also played out at the school, where parents questioned the principal. According to them, the principal claimed she visited the CBSE regional office, but no solution was reached before the exam on Tuesday.The school owner, Vinay Kataria, said earlier batches had managed to take the exams through “a similar arrangement”, but the problem arose this year after a Delhi-based partner school was de-affiliated. “We attempted to transfer the students to other schools in Gurgaon to ensure their registration. However, these attempts largely failed. We tried across the city, but some schools did not take them due to fear of being de-registered,” he added.Kataria claimed Educrest received its CBSE affiliation only “5 days ago”, and that parents were already informed about the “arrangement” with other schools. “We are in the process of filing a petition in the high court,” he said, adding that lawyers had been hired to draft a petition seeking the court’s permission to let the students appear for the remaining papers.A senior CBSE official said the affected students could write the remaining papers if they got their admit cards by then. “If a student misses a few papers, they can be put in the compartment category. They can take a supplementary exam later this year without having to repeat the entire year,” the official added.Parents have filed a complaint at Sector-9A police station, accusing the school management of cheating and putting students’ futures in grave uncertainty.The protests by parents also drew official scrutiny. In a directive on Tuesday, the district elementary education officer asked Educrest to “immediately explain” how it was conducting classes till 10 without clear legal authority. Records — seen by TOI — showed the school’s recognition only for classes 1 to 8.“The principal has been asked to visit the mini secretariat and produce valid affiliation documents for higher classes. Failure to do so will result in a report being filed with the deputy commissioner and directorate for unilateral legal action,” an official said.
