Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: A major certificate forgery racket has come to light in Assam, with the Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB), Division-II, detecting that thousands of students secured admission to Class XI in the state using allegedly fake Class X pass certificates purportedly issued in the name of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE).
Meanwhile, Education Minister Dr Ranoj Pegu said that the CID is investigating the matter. If the certificates are found to be fake ones, the admission of such students will be cancelled. "Most of the students getting admission with fake certificates are from the Nagaon district," he said.
In a communication to the Commissioner and Secretary of the Assam Government's Department of School Education, ASSEB has revealed that 2,083 students admitted to Class XI during the 2025-26 academic session and 2,851 students admitted during 2026-27 submitted Class X pass certificates allegedly issued by institutions that are not affiliated with CISCE.
According to the Board, verification of the list of CISCE-affiliated schools revealed that only 28 schools in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are affiliated with the council. However, several other institutions have allegedly issued certificates in the name of CISCE, which were subsequently used by students to obtain admission to Class XI under ASSEB, Division II.
The Board has termed the certificates fake or forged and held both the students who submitted them and the institutions allegedly involved in issuing them responsible for the unlawful act.
Taking note of the seriousness of the matter, ASSEB has said that the registration of students admitted to Class XI during the current academic session (2026-27) has already been blocked.
The Board has also requested the state government to instruct the inspectors of schools in the concerned districts to initiate legal action, including the filing of FIRs, against the institutions allegedly involved in issuing the fake certificates.
It has further recommended that the institutions concerned be advised to stop the further studies of students admitted during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic sessions based on such certificates.
A district-wise list of institutions where admissions were secured using the allegedly forged certificates has also been enclosed with the communication for necessary action.
The revelations have raised serious questions about the verification of academic credentials during the admission process and the functioning of institutions allegedly issuing certificates without proper affiliation.