For years, parents in Bilaspur paid premium fees to enrol their children in what they believed was a CBSE-affiliated school. Now, on the eve of the Chhattisgarh Board examinations, they have discovered the truth — and nearly 300 children are paying the price.
Two branches of Brilliant Public School, one of Bilaspur's most well-known private institutions, have been found operating on fraudulent or misused state-board recognition while falsely branding themselves as CBSE schools. The scam, running undetected for years, came to light only after the Chhattisgarh government made it mandatory this academic year for all private schools to register their Class 5 and 8 students for the state board examinations beginning March 16, 2026.
When the school management asked parents to choose between the internal CBSE-pattern exam already conducted and the upcoming CG Board exam, parents were stunned. Their children had spent an entire year studying CBSE textbooks. Nobody had ever told them that in the eyes of the law, this was a state-board school.
One Recognition, Two Schools
The investigation revealed a deeper problem. Both branches of Brilliant Public School hold affiliation granted by the District Education Officer under the Chhattisgarh School Education Department — valid only up to Class 8. But a single recognition certificate was being used to run two separate campuses, itself a violation. The school never adopted the CG Board curriculum, never distributed state textbooks, and never registered students for board exams — all while collecting high fees under the CBSE brand.
After parents filed a complaint with the Bilaspur Collector, the DEO dispatched an emergency inspection team, which confirmed the school had been operating in clear violation of its recognition terms. The DEO has since recommended cancellation of the school's recognition — casting serious doubt over the futures of the 250 to 300 affected students.
The Children Who Did Nothing Wrong
Parents have refused to send their children to appear in the March 16 exams. The children had already completed internal school examinations under CBSE patterns. Asking them now to sit for an entirely different board exam — without the right books, without preparation, without any prior notice — would be deeply unjust, parents say. The school management created this crisis. The students should not suffer for it.
Since CG Board rules do not permit outright failure in Class 5 and 8 exams, officials are exploring whether the affected students can appear in the supplementary examinations held in June–July. The school management has submitted a written apology and requested an alternative opportunity for the students.
A Second School, the Same Story
Narayan Technocrats school in Nehru Nagar, Bilaspur, ran the entire academic year under the CBSE banner without valid recognition. When the board exam directive threatened to expose the fraud, management hurriedly obtained CG Board recognition at the last minute — a rushed cover-up that investigators say reflects how widespread these practices are.
Where Was the Education Department?
The most damning aspect of this case is not just the school's conduct — it is the years of institutional silence that allowed it to flourish. These schools reportedly kept officials quiet through informal payments during inspections. It took a routine government directive to accidentally expose what should have been caught long ago. Reports suggest that political pressure is already being applied on behalf of the school management. Whether that succeeds or not, the question of accountability — for the schools and for the officials who looked the other way — remains unanswered.
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