New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has discontinued the provision of granting permanent affiliation to schools run by private managements and public sector undertakings (PSUs).

Now, the private and PSU-run schools will have to apply for renewal of application every three years or five years, in a move decried as the national board's attempts at "commercialisation". The CBSE charges a fee of Rs 25,000 for processing applications for renewal of provisional affiliations.

The board last week amended its bylaws to scrap the system under which schools that had been provisionally affiliated to the CBSE for more than 10 years and were fulfilling all the requirements like land, building and teachers were given permanent affiliation.

"The board has decided to discontinue the provisions of permanent affiliation as contained in the affiliation bylaws," said a circular issued by CBSE secretary Anurag Tripathi on January 3.

The circular was issued after the CBSE governing body decided to scrap permanent affiliation at its meeting on December 18 last year. Earlier, the affiliation committee of the CBSE had suggested such a measure.

The board has around 19,500 affiliated schools, including 15,000 private institutions.

The CBSE has been giving provisional affiliation to new private schools, regular one-time affiliation to government schools and permanent affiliation to private and PSU-run schools having completed provisional affiliation for 10 years.

"All the provisions, express or implied, contained in the affiliation bylaws in respect of the permanently affiliated schools stand amended to the effect that the rules applicable to provisionally affiliated schools will apply to all these schools mutatis-mutandis," the circular said.

Mutatis-mutandis is jargon for making necessary alterations while not affecting the main point.

Board sources said many schools were misusing their permanent affiliation and not providing the required facilities of safety and quality.

"The renewal of application will ensure continuous scrutiny and maintenance of standards in schools," a senior official said.

However, the regular one-time affiliation for government schools will continue.

School principals criticised the decision as a move towards commercialisation. They said there was no logic in asking the old schools to seek provisional affiliation every three or five years.