New Delhi: Delhi Government is mulling winding up of the Delhi Board of School Education (DBSE) established by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. Sources in the Directorate of Education disclosed that preparations are underway to hand over the operation of 56 Schools of Specialized Excellence (SOSE) affiliated to DBSE to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The AAP leadership has termed the decision as politically motivated.
Sources said that the entrance examination for admission to class 9 in SOSE will be conducted soon and the successful candidates will be admitted under the CBSE. The dates of the entrance examinations are to be announced soon. The Deputy Director of Education has mentioned in one of his orders that the students enrolled in class 9 in 2025-26 will be registered with the CBSE.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had previously said that the Arvind Kejriwal led AAP government had created DBSE in violation of rules. She said, “If there is CBSE then there is no need for another Board.” She had questioned the validity of the DBSE certificates abroad and pointed out that Delhi schools are already recognized by the CBSE.
The DBSE had been formed by the AAP government in 2021and the already operating Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas in Delhi were renamed as Dr. Ambedkar Schools of Specialized Excellence. There were 31 schools affiliated with the DBSE along with 11 Schools of Applied Learning. There were plans to gradually bring other schools also under the ambit of the DBSE. The idea was to have a separate Board for Delhi.
A Principal of a private school said that all the schools affiliated to the DBSE have been instructed by the Delhi government to enroll the students in accordance with the CBSE norms and follow the latter’s curriculum. The current batches of class 10 and 12 will be the last ones under the DBSE.
Experts said that the decision to form the Board should be passed by the Delhi cabinet and it should get a certificate of equivalence with the national and other state boards from the central government. The third condition is to get membership of the Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE) which is a group of all the recognized boards of the country. This group assesses the credibility and recognition status of all the boards.
The Kejriwal cabinet had approved the formation of DBSE on March 6, 2021 and on March 16 it was registered by the Registrar of Societies. On March 18, it was notified through a gazette notification. The DBSE was made a member of the COBSE group August 6 and listed at number 21 on its website. On July 28, it was granted a status equivalent to the CBSE and other recognized boards across the country.
On January 3, 2024, the CBSE recorded the DBSE in all its records. Certificates of boards recognized by competent agencies of the Government of India are also valid for admission in foreign universities.
However, the AAP leaders claim that all the rules were followed and there are documents available to prove this. They said that the DBSE finds the number 15 spot in the list of boards recognized by the Government of India.
The AAP leadership claims that the Chief Minister is closing the DBSE for political reasons and there is no truth in her claims that the certificates of this board will not be valid in foreign countries. It has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of playing with the future of children.
The AAP leaders have also contested her claims there being no need for two boards. “If we talk about two boards in Delhi, then in other states there are already three and four boards running simultaneously,” the AAP said in a statement. Meanwhile Delhi's Education Minister Ashish Sood has confirmed to ETV Bharat, “Yes, we have abolished the DBSE.”
However, questions remain about the validity of class 10 and 12 certificates issued by the DBSE in the three years of its existence. The CBSE officials said that they are awaiting procedural formalities to act on enrolling the former DBSE students with their Board.
