India, Aug. 5 -- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has warned schools that students found absent without valid leave records during surprise inspections were liable to be treated as non-attending or dummy candidates and would not be allowed to appear in the board examinations 2026.

CBSE has decided to bar students enrolled in "dummy schools" - where pupils are enrolled on paper but skip regular classes to focus on private coaching for engineering and medical entrance examinations.

"We have amended our examination bylaws to prohibit such students from appearing in the board exams, requiring them to take the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) exam instead," a senior CBSE official said.

CBSE exam controller Sanyam B...